Special Randomness
by 1358456
Summary: A story based on Pokémon Special, the manga. A compilation of random events, some of which have the 15 Dex Holders playing and participating in random, pointless, yet hilarious games and events, which leads to random yet funny penalties for losing.
1. The String

**Welcome to Special Randomness (or SR), where ideas not used in Special Events (SE) or Special Adventures (SA) come to shine… before death. This is a compilation of random funny events, similar to how SE is a compilation of various pairings.**

**The pairings in this series will be the same as Special Adventures. But they will only be mentioned. Pairings are as follows: Red & Yellow, Green & Blue, Gold & Crystal, Ruby & Sapphire, Diamond & Platinum.**

**This series will not have Miscellaneous Information of the Single Chapter (MISC), but the MISCs from SE and SA will apply here. For the important MISCs, check out SE and SA, as there are quite a few that are too long to post all at the same time. They're not plot critical (there is no plot, but…), but important things like travel times are listed.**

**Anyways, here's SR #001: The String.**

**Category: SR.**

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><p>Chapter 1: The String<p>

Ruby peeked out of his room in the Jubilife Hotel (owned by Platinum Berlitz) to make sure no one was in the hallways. He shut the door and the windows before continuing his conversation on the Pokégear.

"Okay… I understand…" he said. "… … All of them? … … No problem. I can handle it." He hung up and put the Pokégear away. With a sigh, he reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of black gloves. "Time to get to work…"

Ruby headed out of the room and began to walk down the hall. Before long, he could see Diamond walking around, looking for Platinum.

"Excuse me," the Sinnoh boy said as he came closer. "Did you see the Lady anywhere? We were playing hide and seek and she seems to have disappeared."

Ruby smiled. '_Too easy…_' "Well, I told her that she could hide in my room. So… come."

The Hoenn Dex Holder led the way and his junior followed. Ruby opened the door to his room and entered. The moment Diamond entered the room, Ruby shut the door. Diamond began to look around while Ruby reached for his bag.

"Lady, if you're in here, I'm going to find you!" Diamond said as he began to look around the furniture.

"No Dia. You won't," Ruby said from behind.

Diamond turned to face his senior, wondering what he was talking about. Ruby suddenly knocked him down to the ground, with a long string in his hands.

"Whaa? What are you doing?" Diamond asked.

Ruby kept a foot on the Sinnoh boy's chest to make sure he doesn't get up. "Don't worry," he said as he tested the durability of the string. "If you don't struggle or make a sound, this will be over quick…"

Several minutes later…

Platinum peeked around the couch she was hiding behind, to see if Diamond had come to find her. Satisfied that the Sinnoh boy wasn't there yet, the heiress smiled and hid herself again. Her Pokégear started to vibrate, and she checked who was calling.

"Hello? Senior Ruby?" the heiress answered silently.

"Hey, Platinum… uh… quick, come to my room. Dia was looking for you in my room, and he… uh… had a little accident. He tripped and hit his head on a shelf, and… uh… just get here."

Platinum gasped. "Oh no… Diamond! Yes senior, I shall go there at once!" The heiress hung up and quickly left her room. She then ran towards the stairs so she could get to Ruby's room on the floor below.

Within a minute, the heiress reached Ruby's room. She hastily knocked on the door and Ruby opened it. He let Platinum enter and shut the door. A few seconds later, the heiress let out a terrified scream…

Next target…

Ruby peeked through the peephole in his door and could see Gold walking by. Ruby silently opened the door and grabbed his senior from behind.

"Hey, what the hell?" the goggled boy yelled as Ruby dragged him backwards.

"Quiet. It'll all be over soon…"

The goggled boy tried to yell something but the Hoenn Dex Holder put his gloved hand over the Johto boy's mouth, preventing him from saying anything. All Gold could do was let out a muffled noise as his junior dragged him into his room…

Half a minute later, Crystal came by and knocked on Ruby's door. She noticed that the door was unlocked so she opened it.

"Hey Ruby, can I borrow your measur…" Crystal trailed off. She could see Ruby testing the durability of a string and the lower half of Gold (the upper part was hidden from her sight by a couch) not moving on the floor. Seeing the surprised expression on the Hoenn Dex Holder, the Johto girl gasped in shock. "Ruby, what did you…"

"You were supposed to be my second last target, but… you saw too much!" Ruby exclaimed as he quickly approached his senior.

Crystal hastily turned and tried to run. She let out a short scream before Ruby clasped a hand over her mouth and dragged her into the room…

Several minutes later…

"Hey Ruby! Open up!" Sapphire yelled as she knocked on the door.

The door opened and Ruby appeared. "What do you want, Sapphire?"

"Blue needs to borrow your sewing kit," the Hoenn girl said. "She said it was an emergency." She looked at Ruby's hands. "Hey, why are you wearing those gloves? What happened to your old ones?"

"Oh these? They're…" Ruby trailed off. He pretended to look at something behind Sapphire. "Hey Sapphire, what's that?" he asked, pointing past her.

Sapphire turned around to see what he was pointing at. The moment her back was turned, Ruby grabbed her from behind. Before the Hoenn girl could struggle much, he dragged her into his room. He quickly shut the door with his foot and knocked Sapphire down to the floor. The Hoenn girl could see that Ruby was holding a long piece of string.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" she yelled.

Ruby quickly grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them down on the floor. But Sapphire simply overpowered him and pushed him off of her. She then sprang up to her feet and tackled Ruby down to the floor just as he was getting back up. This time, Ruby pushed her off of him.

"Just relax, Sapphire! It'll all be over soon!" he yelled as he grabbed his length of string again.

"The hell it will!"

The two Hoenn Dex Holders struggled for a few minutes, knocking over furniture and generally causing a ruckus. But eventually, Sapphire was on top of Ruby, pushing down on his back with her knee.

"Get off me!" Ruby yelled.

"Never! You tried to kill me!" Sapphire yelled back.

"What? No! Why would I do that?" Ruby asked back, bewildered.

"It was you, wasn't it? You killed Platinum and Dia!" Sapphire yelled. "No wonder I couldn't find them!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Suddenly, the door opened and Blue appeared. The Kanto girl appeared a little angry as she crossed her arms and glared at the two Hoenn Dex Holders.

"How long does it take to borrow a sewing kit?" she asked.

"It's only taking a while because Ruby tried to kill me!" Sapphire said. "He killed Platinum and Dia!"

"What? That's impossible!" Blue said. "I just saw Platinum on my way down here. And Dia's in the cafeteria."

"Huh?"

"I'm not trying to kill anyone!" Ruby yelled.

"But… you attacked me with that string!"

Blue picked up the string and looked at it. "Sapphire, look at the string carefully."

Sapphire got off of Ruby and received the mystery string. She looked at it very carefully, and noticed that it was…

"… Dental floss?"

Ruby rose to his feet and sighed. "Look, I'm supposed to be advertising this brand of dental floss. I'm supposed to show it to every Dex Holder and let them try it for themselves." Blue looked at him curiously. Ruby sighed again. "Yes, I'm doing a little product placement. I've got to get paid too!"

"Then… why did you attack me from behind?" Sapphire asked. "You could've just told me to try the new dental floss."

"Come on… if I just told you to try the dental floss, you won't listen! And think. How many of the Dex Holders would try the floss if I just told them to?"

"Good point," Blue said. "Hey Ruby, let me try."

Ruby reached in his bag and pulled out the dental floss packet. He tossed it to his senior. "Why do you need the sewing kit anyways?"

"My bag's strap ripped," Blue replied as she pulled out a length of dental floss.

"_That_ was the emergency?" Sapphire asked.

"Of course that's an emergency!" Blue and Ruby replied at once.

The Kanto girl tested the dental floss. "Hey, this is pretty good."

"Yep. Easy grip, durable, and cleans better," the ex-Johto boy replied.

Just then, Platinum appeared in the doorway, as she was curious how the dental floss advertisement had been going. Seeing the heiress, Sapphire believed Ruby completely and felt a little embarrassed at her reaction. She tried the dental floss herself while Platinum explained how Ruby got her.

"But please do not scare me like that," the heiress added after the explanation. "I was afraid that Diamond had been seriously injured…"

"You weren't scared about the method of the _advertisement_?" Sapphire asked.

"That was terrifying as well," Platinum said. "Once again, please do not do that again."

"But hey, it was sort of fun for me," Ruby said. "Hey, I could use your help," he said to the gathered Dex Holders. "So far, I got… Gold, Crystal, and Dia."

The female Dex Holders glanced at each other.

"Well then… I'll take Green and Silver," Blue said.

"I shall take care of Pearl," Platinum added.

"I'll take Red and Yellow," Sapphire said.

"Then that leaves me with Emerald. Great," Ruby said. "It's fun, trust me." He took out several dental floss packets and pairs of gloves and handed them out to his 'partners in crime'. "Alright. Let's go!"

Red…

The Kanto champion slowly walked towards the stairs while whistling. He was somewhat hungry, so he was going to the cafeteria in the second floor of the hotel. Platinum had assured him that the food was very good, so he couldn't wait to try it.

He turned a corner and could see the stairs at the end of the hallway. But just after taking 3 steps, something happened…

Sapphire suddenly dropped into his vision from above, hanging upside down with a freaky grin on her face, with a long string between her hands. The Kanto champion could only let out a surprised yell as his junior lunged at him…

Green…

The Viridian Gym Leader sat on a chair in his room, reading the news. He flipped the page and reached for the glass of water on the table.

"… Hi, Blue," he said after a sigh.

"… How did you know I was here?" came the Kanto girl's voice from behind.

"I can see your reflection," Green replied, looking at the glass of water. The Gym Leader rose to his feet and turned to face Blue. The Kanto girl quickly tried to hide the dental floss, but it was too late. "What the… Was that dental floss?"

Blue groaned. '_Stupid Green… ruining my fun…_' "Yes, it is…"

"How much are you trying to scam this time?"

"It's not a scam! I haven't scammed anyone in nearly a decade! This is legitimate advertisement! Want to give it a try?" Blue asked.

"How much is it going to cost me?"

"Nothing! It's just a sample."

Green sighed. "Fine."

Yellow…

Sapphire waited in Yellow's room, waiting for her senior to enter. After surprising the hell out of Red with the assassination-style _advertisement_, the Hoenn girl wanted to see if she could top that.

"… Okay, I'll see you at dinner, Crystal," came Yellow's voice from outside.

Sapphire quickly ran and hid under the bed. Soon, she could hear Yellow walking closer. She could see her senior's feet on the floor as the Kanto Dex Holder simply sat on the bed. Taking this chance, Sapphire silently rolled out away from Yellow. She could see her simply staring ahead, lost in thought.

'_Perfect…_' Sapphire thought to herself. She quietly and carefully moved onto the bed and approached her senior from behind, with a long piece of dental floss in hand…

Outside of Yellow's room, Crystal was about to enter her own room when she heard a loud scream for a short while before it got muffled.

"Huh… so they got her too, huh?" the Johto girl muttered. She slowly shook her head. "Dental floss…"

Silver…

Silver slowly headed towards the stairs so that he could go to Blue's room. There was something he wanted to ask, and the Kanto girl wasn't answering her Pokégear. But as he turned a corner, he could see Blue walking towards him.

"Hey sis. I was about to go up to your room," he said as he walked closer. But he noticed something odd…

Blue had a pair of black gloves and was holding some kind of a long string. "Silver…" she said rather ominously. "It's time…"

"Uh… sis?"

"It's time…" the Kanto girl repeated as she approached Silver. The Johto Dex Holder was simply frozen as she came holding the string as if she was going to kill someone.

"Sis? What are you doing?" Silver asked, sensing dread.

"It's time… … for you to try this new dental floss!"

Emerald…

Emerald entered his room and noticed that it was in the exact state as he left it: a mess. He approached the bed and noticed that the blanket was on the floor in a big heap. The last time he checked, the blanket was on top of the bed in a heap. Emerald reasoned that the blanket probably fell off and reached with his Magic Hand Extensors. The moment he grabbed the blanket, it somehow shot up…

Ruby emerged from the blanket and tackled his fellow Hoenn Dex Holder down to the floor. The blanket fell over them and muffled everything Emerald yelled out.

"Everything will be over soon!" Ruby assured as he placed his gloved hand on Emerald's mouth (and nose). "It won't take long…"

Pearl…

"Hey Miss Lady, why'd you call me?" Pearl asked as he entered Platinum's room. He could see the heiress trying to move the couch.

"Pearl, could you please help me move this?" Platinum asked.

"Oh… sure."

Pearl walked over to Platinum and gave her a hand in moving the couch. Both Sinnoh Dex Holders pulled on the couch and as the furniture was placed where the heiress wanted, she quickly struck.

Platinum let go of the couch and jumped onto Pearl from behind, wrapping one arm around the boy's throat and using the other arm to prevent him from moving his good arm.

"Hey, what the?" Pearl yelled. "Miss Lady, what are you doing?"

"Please remain quiet, Pearl," Platinum said as she put her friend in a complete sleeper hold. "This will not take long if you do not struggle."

A few hours later…

Ruby waited outside the hotel in the dark, waiting. Before long, a black car stopped in the shadows and a few people stepped out. Ruby quietly approached them.

"The deed is done?" one of them asked.

"Yes. I got all of them," Ruby replied. "Now, about our agreement…"

One of the men reached into his pocket and withdrew some money. "Here. 40 000 PKD, like we agreed."

Ruby took the bills and after checking, put them in his pocket. "Alright. Nice doing business with you." The Hoenn Dex Holder turned away and headed towards the hotel entrance when someone stopped him.

"Wait," he said. "We want you to advertise this," he said as he held up something in the air. "We'll give you double."

Ruby turned and looked at the item being held up. "Extension cords?" '_That's going to be very fun…_' "80 000 PKD you say? Make it 100 000 PKD."

"Done," the man replied. "Here's 20 000 PKD for now. You'll get the rest after you complete your task."

Ruby took the money and the extension cord and checked the cord. "Hmm… durable… _very_ durable… light…"

"And takes absolutely no damage from being folded or stepped on."

"Nice…"

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><p><strong>So ends SR #001. Why was Ruby advertising a brand of dental floss? Because.<strong>

**Note: when Crystal arrived at the 'crime' scene, Gold was lying on the floor and not moving because he was simply baffled at the absurdity of the situation. Imagine being attacked from behind with **_**dental floss**_**.**

**Also note: the "category" from above is one of the following:  
><strong>**SR: an idea formed for SR.  
><strong>**SE: an idea rejected from SE.  
><strong>**SA: an idea rejected from SA.  
><strong>**SA-O: an idea from the very first (original) version of SA that never really got started.**

**Next up:  
><strong>**Blue and Yellow make a bet. 'Bombs' are strapped onto Red and Green and are kept in different rooms. A message is sent to every other Dex Holder: "Who will you save? Red or Green? The most popular Dex Holder will be saved and the other will 'die'." Of course, Red and Green are bound to get angry at the Dex Holders who didn't try to rescue them…**

**Now… please review! **_**Now**_**. And if you haven't done so already, check out Special Events and Special Adventures.**


	2. The Choice

**Here's SR #002, as advertised in the preview of SR #001: The String. The inspiration came from a TV show that is in my native language.**

**By the way, for SR and **_**only**_** SR, not all Dex Holders will live where they're supposed to. Why? Because in MISC: Distance and Travel in SE, I said that it would take two days by ship to get from Hoenn/Sinnoh to Kanto/Johto, and that's way too long for SR. So, the Hoenn and Sinnoh Dex Holders will all live somewhere in Kanto and Johto, like summer homes. But only the Dex Holders, not their family. And no Dex Holder will live in the same house as another.**

**Dex Holder locations in SR:  
><strong>**Red, Blue: Pallet Town (house).  
><strong>**Green: Viridian City (Gym).  
><strong>**Yellow, Silver: Viridian City (house).  
><strong>**Gold: New Bark Town (big f*cking house).  
><strong>**Crystal: Violet City (house).  
><strong>**Ruby: Goldenrod City (house).  
><strong>**Sapphire: Azalea Town (house).  
><strong>**Emerald: Violet City (Earl's Academy).  
><strong>**Diamond, Pearl: Saffron City (apartment).  
><strong>**Platinum: Cerulean City (apartment).**

**But why does the MISC: Distance and Travel matter in SR? You'll see in future SR chapters…**

**Category: SE.**

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><p>Chapter 2: The Choice<p>

11 am…

Platinum looked through the windows in her personal home (as opposed to the family mansion in Sandgem Town) in Cerulean City. She could see the Nugget Bridge from her apartment (7th floor) and the river flowing underneath.

Although the apartment was rather small, the heiress felt that it was good enough. She had bought some of the other Dex Holders second homes in the Kanto/Johto region so that all the Dex Holders could gather quickly.

Ruby was now living in Goldenrod City near his old home, Sapphire in Azalea Town near the Ilex Forest, and Diamond and Pearl were living in adjacent apartments in Saffron City. Of course, Platinum had brought some of the servants and maids from the Berlitz Mansion to aid the Dex Holders in their new homes.

Platinum snapped out of her thoughts when her Pokégear started to vibrate. She picked it up. It seemed that she received a video message. With slight hesitation, she played the video. For the next 3 minutes, she watched in horror as her seniors Red and Green were strapped to explosives, calling for help. The narrator (a fake voice) told her to go to storage room 1 in the basement of Celadon City department store if she wishes to rescue Red, while she should go to storage room 2 for Green. She could only save one. The time limit was until 2 pm…

But once the video ended, the heiress felt that something was odd. For one, she doubted that her seniors would actually call for help, and two, if her two seniors were actually taken hostage, then she would've heard the news from Blue.

Platinum sighed in relief. "Whew… I suppose this is just a test to see who I shall pick during desperate times."

She rose to her feet and left her apartment. She couldn't possibly walk or ride the bicycle to Celadon City within 3 hours, so she took the bus.

At the same time, the rest of Sinnoh, Johto, and Hoenn Dex Holders received the same message.

Emerald replayed the video. Crystal, who had been visiting the other orphans in Earl's Academy, prepared to leave.

"Do I _have_ to save one?" Emerald asked.

The Johto girl sighed. "Emerald… if you don't pick, then both Red _and_ Green are going to get angry at you. Do you want that?"

"… No, I do not. Fine, let's go…"

Crystal lent her junior a Flying Pokémon and with her own Xatu, left Violet City.

In Saffron City, Diamond and Pearl wondered what exactly they should do. They couldn't really decide, so they decided to wait for Platinum to arrive in Saffron City and decide with her.

Gold simply hopped onto his Mantine (+ Remoraids) and headed towards Celadon City. He didn't need to think about who he was going to save. It was pretty obvious. Sapphire too, had the same thought as Gold. She knew exactly who she was going to save.

The other Dex Holders each had their own methods of travel and headed towards Celadon City, though they did not know who they were going to save.

Meanwhile, basement of Celadon City Department Store…

"Blue, tell me again why exactly I'm doing this," said Green with a sigh.

"Because this'll show you which Dex Holders will choose to rescue you in times of need!" Blue said with a smile.

Green shook his head. "Again, why are you doing this? This is just going to ruin friendships with other Dex Holders."

Blue crossed her arms. "Yellow and I were talking, and she said that Red was more likeable compared to you. And I said that it wasn't true, and we made a bet. So I suggested doing this. If I lose, then I have to buy everyone dinner today. If I win, then Yellow has to."

Green sighed again. "What is this? A popularity contest? You know that I don't care about popularity."

"Come on, Green. Don't you want to know who will come to save you in the time of need?"

"I can tell you right now that Gold and Sapphire will save Red. Crystal would probably save me."

Blue smiled. "We'll see, Green."

She walked away and crouched in the shadows, so that she was hidden but could still see Green. She took her Pokégear and watched the feeds from the cameras she installed. Camera 1 was in the hall right before the split where the Dex Holders had to decide who they were going to save. Camera 2 was placed in Red's room. Camera 3 was placed in Green's room. The two cameras in the storage rooms were recording everything that was happening so that Red and Green would find out what happened in the other rooms.

In the other storage room, Red had a blank look on his face while Yellow played with her hair nervously. After some 5 minutes, Red finally spoke.

"So… why did I have to pretend like I was going to die?" he asked, turning to face Yellow.

Stammering, Yellow told him of the bet she made with Blue. Red raised an eyebrow.

"I… see?" When Yellow tried to explain further, he stopped her. "It doesn't matter. I guess it would be fun to see who would try to save who."

Department store entrance, 11:20 am…

Silver arrived first, and stared at the department store. He figured that he was the first one to arrive, and wondered if he should proceed to 'rescue' his seniors. He eventually decided that it would be _very_ awkward if he was all alone with one of his seniors, and decided to go eat something from the food court first.

Silver checked his watch. He decided to wait for two hours so that plenty of other Dex Holders would gather in the storage rooms. Silver entered the department store and headed straight towards the food court.

11:50 am…

Ruby deactivated his Running Shoes and looked at the department store. He wondered if he was the first one to arrive.

"Hmm… if I'm one of the first ones to arrive, then… it's going to be really boring and awkward to be in a room all alone with a senior I chose to rescue…" Ruby muttered. He crossed his arms and sighed. "I wonder if I should do some shopping first. This is the greatest store in Kanto, after all…"

A few seconds later, Ruby entered the department store and headed upstairs where he would be able to purchase all sorts of fascinating stuff so that he would decorate his Johto-home. His seniors could wait…

12 pm…

Gold arrived at the department store and stretched. He was going to save Red, but… he was going to get lunch first. The 'bomb' wasn't going to detonate for another two hours, and he was quite hungry, so…

12:20 pm…

Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum arrived in front of the Celadon City Department Store. They haven't yet decided who they would save. Platinum didn't really want to pick one of her seniors over the other, and Diamond and Pearl wanted to pick whoever the heiress was going to pick.

"Perhaps we should decide this over lunch?" Pearl suggested. "I mean… it's lunch time, and we still have over an hour before we reach the time limit."

"Pearl, surely you do not intend to keep our seniors waiting?" Platinum asked.

"Miss Lady, you don't know who you want to save yet."

"Yes, but… it is not right for me to eat while my seniors are waiting," the heiress said. She let out a long sigh. "Diamond, Pearl, if you are hungry, then go eat lunch. I shall go and save my seniors."

"Who are you going to save, Lady?" Diamond asked.

"I do not know," the heiress replied. "I really… do not know…" She suddenly perked up as an idea formed. "Diamond, Pearl, I want one of you to save senior Red and the other to save senior Green. And make sure you bring lunch for them."

"Of course."

Platinum waved good bye to her friends and headed downstairs. In the basement, she ran into a fork in the hallway. If she went left, then she would find storage room 1, where Red was. If she headed right, then she would find storage room 2, where Green was. The heiress sighed and looked both ways.

"Senior Red or senior Green…" she muttered. She let out a long sigh. She really didn't want to pick one senior over the other. In truth, Platinum felt that she was closer to Red than Green. But she also knew that Red was a lot more forgiving than Green. "What should I do?"

12:30 pm…

Crystal and Emerald jumped off of their Pokémon and looked at the department store. Emerald continued grumbling about his hunger and being forced to save one of two people he didn't really care about.

"Let's eat something first," he said.

"What? Emerald, our seniors need our help. Sure, it's just for show, but still. We can't eat while they're waiting for us. That's disloyal to our seniors who probably haven't eaten anything either."

Gold saw Crystal land and had come out to greet her.

"Hey Super Serious Gal, come eat lunch with us," he said.

"Us?" Crystal asked back.

"Yeah. Silver's eating lunch up there too," Gold replied. "Dia and Pearl are there too."

"… Did _anyone_ go down to save Red or Green?" Crystal asked.

"Uh… I think Platinum's down there, but I'm not sure," Gold replied.

The Johto girl sighed. "Emerald, go eat lunch then. I'm going to save our seniors."

"Oh come on, Crys!"

"You should eat something first!" Emerald joined.

"NO!" Crystal yelled. "I'm going to save our seniors!"

But Gold and Emerald each grabbed the Johto girl's arm and dragged her towards the food court in the department store.

Meanwhile…

"What the hell is taking them so long?" Green growled out.

Blue looked at the camera feeds. "I saw Platinum walking down the halls, but I don't think she decided on who she's going to save." She looked over at Green. "Who do you think she'll save?"

"I don't know. I always give her practice Gym Battles and help her prepare for other Gyms, but Red does take care of her better." Green took a deep breath. "Now that I think about it, she'll save Red."

12:40 pm…

Platinum sighed for the hundredth time. She eventually gathered enough courage to pick… The heiress sighed again and headed left, to storage room 1, where Red was. The Kanto champion did take care of her a lot more than the Viridian Gym Leader, after all.

Platinum approached storage room 1 and quietly opened the door. It was dark, so she carefully entered.

"Senior Red?" she called as she walked down the small set of stairs. "Senior Red?"

The heiress walked around a corner and instantly froze. Waiting for her, sitting on a chair, was… Green? The Viridian Gym Leader slowly rose to his feet. Platinum simply looked at him, too stunned for words.

"So… I wait in this room, on that chair, feeling ridiculous for nearly two hours, only to find out that you abandoned me," Green started slowly. "After all those practice Gym Battles I gave you."

"Um… I… um…" Platinum stammered, trembling in fear. "B – But… why… … how…"

"Pesky girl's idea," Green replied. "We swapped rooms so those who try to save Red will run into me, and those who try to save me will run into Red."

Blue slowly walked into view. "I'm sorry to surprise you like this, Platinum," she started. "But… it's fun to watch a _really_ awkward moment."

Green turned to face her. "You sadistic monster…"

"Hey, I take offense to that!"

Platinum suddenly dropped to her knees and bowed to Green. "I – I am terribly sorry, senior!"

"It's fine," Green said as he sat back down on his chair. Blue put the hostage-costume on him again. "Pesky girl… I look ridiculous."

"P – Please forgive me…" Platinum said, her voice shaking. It sounded as if she was on the verge of crying. "I – I did not wish to pick one senior over the other…"

"I said it's fine," Green said again.

"Please do not hate me…"

"I said it's fine!" the Gym Leader yelled.

Platinum froze. She dared not look at her senior and instead, remained trembling on her knees with her face almost touching the floor.

"That was harsh," Blue said.

Green sighed. "Apart from scaring Platinum, skipping lunch, feeling awkward, and looking ridiculous, is there anything else you want me to do today?"

"… Take me out on a date?" the Kanto girl suggested.

Green sighed again and shook his head. "I'll ignore that."

5 minutes later, 12:45 pm…

Sapphire jumped off of her Tropius and unlike just about everyone, quickly headed to the basement. When she approached the split in the hall, she took a brief look to the left (where Red is supposed to be) and to the right. Without much hesitation, she headed left, to save her idol. She entered the room and walked silently deep into the room.

"Red!" the Hoenn girl yelled. "Red! Where are you?"

Sapphire turned a corner and instantly froze in her tracks. She could see Green with his arms crossed, sitting on a chair. To the Hoenn girl's horror, the Viridian Gym Leader slowly rose to his feet and approached her.

"Who were you trying to save?" he asked with a deadly glare.

"I… um… … I… um…" Sapphire stammered as she nervously backed away. After a nervous gulp, she dropped to her knees and clasped her hands together. "Please don't kill me!"

Green smirked. "Don't worry about it. I knew this would happen."

Sapphire still remained on her knees, afraid to move. Once Green sat back down on the chair, the Hoenn girl slowly got up and hid behind some boxes. She was surprised to see Platinum hiding there, hugging her knees and her face buried in her arms.

"Platinum?" the Hoenn girl whispered.

"Hello, senior," the heiress whispered back.

"So you chose Red too, huh?"

"I – I did not wish to pick one senior over the other…" Platinum muttered.

Sapphire patted her junior on the shoulder. "I know. But look at it this way. At least Red will take better care of you once he knows that you picked him."

"I suppose so…"

1 pm…

Gold, Silver, Crystal, and Emerald _finally_ came across the split in the hallway that would determine their fate. Silver wanted to wait another 30 minutes, but he was dragged downstairs by Crystal. Gold looked left and right before he headed to storage room 1 to save Red. Silver headed to storage room 2, under the belief that Blue would be with Green.

"Yo, senior Red! I'm coming!" Gold yelled as he (loudly) entered storage room 1. "Where are you?" He ran down the short set of stairs and turned the corner. He instantly froze upon seeing Green glaring at him. "Oh… … this is just not fair…"

Suddenly, Sapphire started to clap as she rose to her feet. Gold looked at her and was slightly relieved to know that he would not be alone with the pissed-off Green. The Viridian Gym Leader glared at the Hoenn girl and she instantly hid behind the boxes again. The Gym Leader glanced at Gold and pointed at the boxes. The goggled boy avoided eye contact and slowly headed towards the boxes where he would be able to hide.

"I told you that those three would save Red, didn't I?" Green said to Blue.

"Well… the score is 3:0, but now the _real_ fun begins! Now whoever walks in here would be unexpected!" Blue said rather cheerfully. '_If Green loses, he'll kill me! Oh, I never should've made this bet! This isn't fair! It's not my fault that Green is not liked by the others!_'

In storage room 2, Silver quietly entered and turned a corner. He could see Red dozing off in his chair and Yellow sitting on some boxes with a blank look. Upon seeing Silver, she snapped out and waved.

"Hi, Silver," she said. "You're our first visitor!"

Red snapped awake and looked at the Johto Dex Holder. "Finally, someone's here!" he said as he rose to his feet. He was about to greet his junior when a thought occurred. "Wait… that's a bad thing, right?"

Silver nodded. '_I should've known sis would do something like this…_' He noticed the awkward silence in the room and sighed. "Well… isn't this just nice and awkward…"

Meanwhile, Crystal and Emerald stood at the fork in the hallway. To their left was storage room 1, and to the right storage room 2.

"So… who are you going to save?" Emerald asked. "Green? You two do work together."

"I think I'll surprise Red by saving him. I think it'd be better if I spend time with both Red and Green instead of just Green," Crystal replied.

"Suit yourself. I'm going to save Green because he's a lot scarier than Red when angry."

The Hoenn Dex Holder headed right and entered storage room 2. Before long, he could see Red, Yellow, and Silver sitting in complete awkward silence.

"Hey, Emerald!" Red said as he greeted his junior. "You're our second visitor!" He turned to look at Yellow. "That's still a bad thing, right?"

Yellow nodded. She took out her Pokégear and called Blue. She wanted to know how many people were in storage room 1…

Outside, Crystal carefully opened the door and entered. "Red, where are you?" she called, unaware of the fate that will fall onto her in 10 seconds. "Red?"

Around the corner, Green gritted his teeth at the unexpected betrayal. It was bad enough that most of his juniors were saving Red instead of him (late, for that matter)…

10 seconds later, Crystal turned the corner and gasped. She froze as the Viridian Gym Leader rose to his feet and stomped towards her.

"Do I look like Red to you?" Green asked angrily.

"Green! I – I… um…" the Johto girl stammered. '_Something tells me that I should've expected this…_'

"Not only did you come late, but you betrayed me too? You… I expected different!"

"G – Green, listen!" Crystal said hastily. "I – I only picked Red because I wanted to get closer to him!"

"Hey, what the hell?" Gold yelled as he rose from his cover. "Were you cheating on me or something?"

"No, not like that, you idiot!" Crystal yelled back.

"Both of you, shut up!" Green ordered. He glared at Crystal. "Answer this. Why were you late?"

"Um…" Crystal quickly tried to think of an excuse.

"She was eating lunch!" Gold yelled from behind. "I was simply walking by and I saw her eating instead of trying to save you!" '_Take that, Super Serious Gal!_'

"He was the one who dragged me!" Crystal said, trying to explain herself. "I wanted to save my seniors as soon as possible but Emerald and that jerk dragged me and forced me to buy them lunch!"

Sapphire and Platinum silently watched from their cover. They glanced at each other and decided to _not_ do anything that would catch the furious Gym Leader's attention. They were simply glad that Green had expected them to save Red, and that they did _not_ eat lunch.

Green glared at Gold, making the goggled boy flinch. The Johto boy quietly hid behind boxes again. The Viridian Gym Leader glared at Crystal and made her flinch. He pointed at the boxes and Crystal quietly went to hide like ordered.

"Thanks for ratting me out, Crys," Gold grumbled as Crystal took cover beside him.

"You started it, you jerk," she grumbled back. "Thanks to you, Green's going to hate me now."

Green sighed to vent his frustration and glared at Blue, who had a hand over her face. "This had been a _brilliant_ plan," he said sarcastically.

'_I'm screwed…_' "Well…" she trailed off when her Pokégear started to ring. '_Yes, saved!_'

Green sat on his chair again and glared at the Kanto girl while she talked on the Pokégear. A minute later, she hung up and looked at Green.

"What?"

"According to Yellow," she started. "Silver and Emerald went to save you. So the score is 4:2 right now. You can still win this, you know. If Dia, Pearl, and Ruby go to save you, then you'll win!" She checked the camera feeds. "Yep. Silver and Emerald are with Red and Yellow right now, and it's getting _really_ awkward in there."

Green shook his head. "Whatever. Diamond, Pearl, and Ruby had _better_ try to save me."

Platinum quietly slapped a hand over her face. Sapphire looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I… I suggested that Diamond and Pearl save both our seniors… One of Diamond and Pearl will surely come to save senior Red while the other will try to save senior Green…" the heiress replied quietly.

"So… senior Red's going to win?" Gold whispered in shock. "We're screwed! If senior Green loses, he'll be _pissed_!"

"If Green does lose, then Sapphire, Platinum," Crystal said, looking at her two juniors. "You two will have to… you know… use what Blue taught you to try to make Green feel better."

"Do you really think that'll work?" Sapphire asked. "I mean… Blue tries it all the time and it never did her any good."

"Well, you two are his juniors. I'm sure it'll work," Crystal replied. She peeked over her cover and saw Green glaring at Blue.

"Those three had _better_ end up in the other room," he said.

'_Yes… they'd better…_' "I'm sure they will…" Blue replied with a fake smile.

1:30 pm…

Outside, Ruby _finally_ came to the basement after buying as many things as his wallet would allow. Now all he needed to do was… get Sapphire's opinion. If she liked the decoration items, then he would go get a refund. If she didn't like the items, then he was good to decorate his home.

The ex-Johto boy stopped in the fork in the hall. He glanced left and right for a second, wondering which storage room Sapphire went to. He figured that the Hoenn girl would go save her idol, so he headed left.

Meanwhile, storage room 2…

Red looked at the two juniors who came to save Green. They looked back with a blank expression, thus maintaining the awkward silence.

"So…" the Kanto champion started. "… Uh…"

"Are you two hungry?" Yellow asked. The other two Dex Holders shook their heads in unison. "Oh… … well… we are…"

The awkward silence resumed, and the four Dex Holders sighed in unison. This was going to be a _long_ and painful day…

In storage room 1, the four hiding Dex Holders whispered a plan to themselves while the two Kanto Dex Holders waited in silence for some _good_ news. Blue was nervous because she didn't tell Green the _complete_ details about the whole ordeal (and the truth about the 'bomb'), while Green was still upset about the fact that Crystal had betrayed him after all those years of working together.

The Gym Leader rose to his feet and paced around his chair as a method of venting his anger. Crystal flinched when Green sighed. She carefully rose to her feet and walked over.

"Um… Green?"

"What?"

The Johto girl suddenly hugged him, surprising everyone in the room. "I'm really sorry. Can you please forgive me?" she asked in the cutest voice she could muster.

Blue gasped in shock. She never thought that Crystal would ever attempt to use _Cute Charm_ against Green, or anyone for that matter. Sapphire and Platinum looked at each other, surprised at the sudden turn of events. Gold seemed to be in complete shock.

Green simply stared at Crystal. "… Did you drink something unusual?" he asked after a moment of thought. "You're acting… strange."

Crystal backed away at the unexpected question. '_How rude!_' "What? No!"

Gold jumped to his feet. "Hey, Crys! What the hell! What, are you going out with senior Green now?"

"Would you just shut up?" Crystal yelled at Gold. "You're not helping!"

Green shook his head. "Crystal, when this is over, you're taking a breath test and a drug test. If the tests return positive, then I'll forgive your betrayal but you will be relieved of your workload and be forced into rehabilitation."

'_Oh, come on!_' "I'm not drunk or on drugs!" the Johto girl said. "This is absurd!"

"If the tests return negative," Green continued. "Then you will have to explain yourself."

"I was just trying to lighten your mood," Crystal said after a sigh. "I'm sorry for trying."

The Johto girl quickly ran back towards her cover in embarrassment. On her way, she kicked Gold in the knees as hard as she could.

"Ow! What the hell, Crys?" the goggled boy yelped out.

Crystal ignored him and looked at Sapphire and Platinum, who were looking at her. "What?"

"Crystal, I thought you hated that trick," Sapphire said.

"Well, I tried my plan and only embarrassed myself. Happy?" the Johto girl retorted. She sighed. "Sorry… I just feel ridiculous…"

Ruby opened the door to storage room 1 at that time. He walked down the small set of stairs, only thinking about Sapphire's possible reactions to the decorations he purchased.

"Red, I came to rescue…" Ruby trailed off as he turned the corner and spotted Green who was glaring in his direction. "… Rescue you, Green."

"Ruby you idiot!" Sapphire yelled as she jumped out of her cover. "You were supposed to save Green!"

Green simply sighed and Blue nervously went to hide behind the boxes like the other Dex Holders. Ruby stood dumbfounded, wondering how and why Green was in Red's room. The Hoenn Dex Holder dropped the shopping bags, reached into his backpack and pulled out something he bought earlier. He looked at Green and offered…

"… Want a lollipop?"

Green rose to his feet and menacingly approached his junior…

1:45 pm…

The door to storage room 2 opened again, and upon hearing it, Red jumped to his feet. Before long, Pearl came into view, carrying several plastic bags.

"Green, I came to…" the Sinnoh Dex Holder trailed off when he saw Red. "… Huh?"

"Blue's idea," Red said. "She said that Green and I should switch rooms. She… uh… likes seeing and hearing about awkward moments, apparently."

"Oh… Well, upon orders of Miss Lady, I'm here with lunches for those who didn't eat yet," Pearl said, hoisting the plastic bags in the air.

Red clapped his hands together and approached his junior. "Finally! Something to eat! Thanks, Pearl!" He patted his junior on the back and went back to his chair. "Yellow, you didn't eat anything. So come here!" Red then looked at Silver and Emerald. "Did you two eat?" he asked. His two juniors nodded simultaneously. "Oh… Well, more for me and Yellow then!"

At the same time, Diamond opened the door to storage room 1, carrying several plastic bags packed with food. He carefully walked deep into the room and turned the corner, where he saw a strange sight.

Blue, Crystal, and Platinum were in the standard punishment position while Gold, Ruby, and Sapphire were in the standard harsh punishment position. Green stood in front, glaring at all of them. Ruby's lollipop offer had triggered Green's outrage… Platinum squirmed on her knees as her feet started to feel numb. Her arms were aching from holding a heavy box high above her head too. She looked to her right where Blue and Crystal were in the same predicament. But the two older girls didn't seem to be in the same pain as the heiress.

But beside them were the three Dex Holders who were in worse pain. Sapphire grunted as her neck and head really started to hurt. She was in the push-up position, but she was supporting herself off of the floor with her head. She kept her hands on her back like she was supposed to.

Ruby grunted as he had to keep all of his shopping bags and his backpack on his back, which greatly increased the strain on his head and neck. He also grumbled about how his hat was being ruined by being pressed against the dirty floor.

Diamond silently turned around and tried to leave the room before Green noticed. But unfortunately, the Gym Leader did notice.

"Where do you think you're going?" Green asked as he turned around. "Diamond… So, you tried to save Red too?"

Platinum perked up at the mention of Diamond. She looked past Green and spotted the Sinnoh Dex Holder. The heiress noticed that the Sinnoh boy looked _very_ nervous.

Blue silently groaned. '_6:3… I should've known that the others would like Red a lot more than Green… Now I have to buy everyone dinner, and Green's going to hate me!_'

"Well… I… uh…" Diamond stammered. He looked at the plastic bags he was carrying and remembered why he came. "Oh, right. On orders of the Lady, I'm here to deliver lunches to the Dex Holders who didn't eat yet."

Green looked at the Dex Holders in the punishment positions. "Who didn't eat lunch yet?"

Sapphire managed to raise her hand. Blue and Platinum glanced at her and looked at Green. The heiress quickly avoided eye contact, however, and looked down at the floor.

"Well, I'd raise my hand," Blue started. "But… as you can see, I already have both of my hands up in the air." She looked at Platinum and added. "Oh, and Platinum didn't eat anything too."

"Then you three, come eat lunch," Green said. "The rest of you, stay where you are."

Sapphire sighed in relief and simply fell to her side so she could relieve the pressure to her head and neck. Blue carefully lowered the box she was holding in the air so that it doesn't fall on her head. She placed the box on the floor in front of her and shifted to a sitting position so that blood would flow into her feet again.

Platinum's arms started to shake, so Diamond quickly rushed to help her. He removed the box (which was _quite_ heavy) and helped the heiress get to her feet. She was unstable, as her feet were numb.

"Are you okay, Lady?" Diamond asked.

"Yes, thank you," Platinum replied. "This was the first time I was punished… it was quite scary…"

"So…" Green started, looking at Blue. "6 of the 9 Dex Holders are here. What does this mean?"

"Um… well, this means that 6 Dex Holders tried to save Red while 3 tried to save you. So… I lost the bet and now I have to buy everyone dinner," Blue replied.

"Celadon Eatery below the Game Corner!" Gold yelled.

Blue glared at him. "That restaurant's expensive!"

"But the food is great!" Gold yelled again.

"Take a vote," Green said. "Ask the others where they want to go."

"Fine…" Blue took her Pokégear and called Yellow. After a couple of minutes, Blue hung up. "Okay, 4 of the 5 Dex Holders over there like Gold's idea. So it's 5:2 in favor of Celadon Eatery."

Platinum raised a hand. "It is 5:3, now."

"Thanks Platinum. Anyone else?"

Sapphire raised a hand. "6:3!"

Ruby raised a hand. "7:3!"

"Ha! Majority wins!" Gold yelled.

'_Ah, darn it…_' "… Fine, you win!" Blue said after a sigh. '_I can't afford to pay for everyone's dinner! There's only one thing I can do… But I'll have to wait until no one's looking…_'

2:10 pm…

All 13 Dex Holders gathered outside the Celadon City Department Store. All the Dex Holders who tried to save Red stood with the Kanto champion except Crystal, who stood between Red and Green. But those who tried to save Green didn't stand with the Gym Leader. Pearl stood with Diamond and Platinum, Silver stood beside Blue, and Emerald stood beside Crystal. Red and Green still had the fake bombs attached to them. The bombs were strapped on with locks, and needed a special key to unlock them.

"Uh… Blue, can we remove the fake bombs now?" Red asked.

"Well… I'll remove yours but… not Green's," Blue replied nervously. She pulled out a key from her bag and removed the fake bomb on Red.

"Why won't you remove my fake bomb?" Green asked.

Sensing Green's anger rising, Sapphire and Platinum exchanged looks. Platinum kneeled in front of the Gym Leader and clasped her hands together while Sapphire hugged him from behind.

"Please forgive us," the heiress said as cute as she could manage.

"Yes, we promise we'll be very good to you," Sapphire added.

At that time, Yellow reached into her pocket and withdrew what looked like a remote. "Do I get to use this now?" she asked Blue.

Blue's eyes opened wide in shock. "Everyone, get away from Green!" she yelled as she hastily ran away.

Everyone except Green, Sapphire, and Platinum ran away while the remaining three appeared confused. While running, Yellow pressed a button on the remote. The fake bomb on Green emitted a single beep before it exploded, covering Green, Platinum, and Sapphire in foul smelling liquid.

Platinum shrieked as the mystery liquid drenched her from head to toe. She tried to wipe away the stuff from her face, but it was rather difficult.

"Hey, what the hell?" Sapphire yelled. "Is this… Gastro Acid?"

Green simply stood there, fuming with rage. A few seconds later, he snapped.

"That's it! EVERYONE DIES!" he roared.

He sent out his Charizard, Golduck, and Scizor. With Golduck's help, he washed the Gastro Acid off of him. Once he was clean of the foul smelling acid, he jumped onto Charizard and began his Dex Holder hunt. On his list was… Blue, Gold, Crystal, and Ruby. He decided to forgive Platinum and Sapphire, as they were also affected by the Gastro Acid, and Diamond, because he was acting on Platinum's orders and brought lunch.

Blue glanced back and could see Green on his Charizard, chasing after her. She looked at the other Dex Holders.

"I'll meet you all in front of Celadon Eatery at 6! I'll see you later!" she yelled as she sent out her Wigglytuff. She wouldn't be able to outrun Green's Charizard, but she was going to try.

Red and Yellow simply watched as Green and his Charizard chased Blue and her Wigglytuff.

"So…" Red started. "Do you think Blue will escape Green's wrath this time?"

"I don't know," Yellow replied. "But I'm sure glad that I won the bet. It means that you're that much nicer to the other Dex Holders than Green."

Red laughed. "Well, I don't know about that." He looked over to the Gastro Acid bomb's blast site and saw Sapphire trying to spit out the acid that went into her mouth and Platinum still on her knees, rubbing her eyes. "Come on, let's go help them," he said. He sent out his Poliwrath and ran over to the two girls.

Yellow smiled and with her Omastar's Pokéball in hand, ran to catch up. "Yes… you are much nicer…"

* * *

><p><strong>Damn, this was long. Hopefully the others won't be as long. If you haven't done so already, check out Special Events and Special Adventures too.<strong>

**Next up:  
><strong>**Red: "Hey Green, did you know that we are the **_**only**_** ones who went through the 3 Paths in Cape Brink of Two Island to learn the ultimate moves?"  
><strong>**Green: "I thought Gold and Crystal went through the paths."  
><strong>**Red: "Apparently not. Crys said that because we damaged the Battle Path, she and Gold did other **_**easier**_** training methods."  
><strong>**Green: "… Brinca, that old hag… … You know what this means, don't you?"  
><strong>**Red: "Yep."  
><strong>**Red and Green: "… PLATINUM!"**

**Remember to review! Follow the 3 R's: Read, Review, and Repeat. **_**Now**_**.**


	3. Revenge

**The newest MISC is up in SA #013: The Storm. It affects SR a little, so it's worth taking a look.**

**Note: the ending has been slightly rushed.**

**Category: SA-O**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Revenge<p>

Green sat on the couch in his living room, watching the news. It seemed that the _only_ thing the news reporters had to report on was about how the president of a Pokémon Talent Agency was seeking to expand her horizons to other entertainment branches. Green shut off the television. He might as well watch Platinum training with Red and Crystal outside. It was a lot better than hearing about some Pokémon Talent Agency in some other region. But just then, the Kanto champion entered the house.

"Hey, Green," he said as he approached the Gym Leader. "Did you know that we are the _only_ ones who went through the 3 Paths in Cape Brink of Two Island to learn the ultimate moves?"

"I thought Gold and Crystal went through the paths," Green said.

"Apparently not. Crys said that because we damaged the Battle Path, she and Gold did other _easier_ training methods."

"… Brinca, that old hag…" Green looked at Red. "… You know what this means, don't you?"

The Kanto champion nodded. "Yep."

The two Kanto Dex Holders left the house and could see Platinum talking to Crystal while resting on the ground.

"… PLATINUM!" the two Kanto Dex Holders yelled in unison.

The heiress jumped in surprise and hastily got back to her feet. She found her seniors and quickly ran towards them. Crystal followed, wondering why Red and Green yelled all of a sudden.

"Yes, seniors?" Platinum said as she came close. She nervously looked back and forth between both of her seniors. They sounded rather angry, and the heiress began to fear whether she did something wrong. "How may I help?"

"We are going to take you someplace where we can train you," Red said.

"This training will allow your Empoleon to use Hydro Cannon," Green added.

Platinum gasped in shock. She clasped her hands together and began to jump up and down. "Oh, thank you so much!" she exclaimed. "I have been waiting so long for this opportunity!"

"It's true," Crystal said. "She asked me whether I could teach her Empoleon the ultimate move, and I said it was your decision to make."

"Yeah, well… I think you're ready," Red said as he looked at Platinum.

"But what about Diamond and Pearl?" the heiress asked. "If my Empoleon learns Hydro Cannon, should not Diamond's Torterra and Pearl's Infernape learn Frenzy Plant and Blast Burn?"

"Well, yes, but they're in Sinnoh right now. You're up first," Green said.

"Where are you going to teach her?" Crystal asked. "Mt. Silver? Here? At the Viridian Gym?"

"Cape Brink of Two Island," Green replied.

"Cape Brink? … Well, I suppose you need Brinca's metal rings if you're going to teach those moves…" Crystal muttered.

"Oh, we'll need more than that," Red said in a wicked way.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Crystal asked. Suddenly a thought occurred and her two seniors suddenly appeared… _evil_. "Wait… Are you two going to make Platinum go through the 3 Paths?"

Green nodded. Platinum appeared confused.

"What are the 3 Paths?" the heiress asked.

"But… why?" Crystal asked, ignoring Platinum's question for the time being. "You don't need to go through the 3 Paths to learn the ultimate moves."

"I know," Red said. "But we're going to take her through the 3 Paths anyways."

"And guess what?" Green said, looking at Crystal ominously.

"W – What?"

"You're coming with us," Red answered instead.

"Wait, what? But Megapeon already knows Frenzy Plant!" Crystal argued. "Why do I need to go?"

"You know that the 3 Paths need two people. Someone is going to have to train with Platinum, and seeing how Red and I need to supervise her training, you will have to be her training partner," Green said calmly.

"Oh… … this is just not fair…" the Johto girl grumbled.

"You sound just like Gold…" Green said as he narrowed his eyes. "If I recall, that was exactly what he said when he chose to rescue Red instead of me a few days ago. You remember that day, don't you?" he asked. He was now glaring at her. "You were there with him." He lightened his expression as he looked at Platinum. "You were there too."

The heiress flinched and avoided eye contact with Green. Red put a hand on her bare shoulder. "Thanks for trying to save me, by the way. And don't worry. Green's not angry at you," he said warmly. Platinum looked into her senior's eyes and smiled.

"What about me?" Crystal asked Red.

Red's expression darkened. "You… I was expecting you to save Green. You betrayed his trust. I expected more from you," he said rather coldly. "That was disappointing."

"Oh, come on!" Crystal yelled. "How can you say that you're disappointed when I tried to save you?"

"And now you're raising your voice at me?"

Crystal instantly fell silent. She sighed and looked down. "Fine…" '_Next time something like that happens, I'm not saving anyone!_'

Within two hours, the four Dex Holders were on a ship heading towards Two Island. Though Platinum was excited about finally learning the ultimate move, Crystal simply stared into the horizon in resignation. She had been warned. If she tried to escape, she would be doomed.

"Senior Crystal, what are the 3 Paths?" Platinum asked again.

"… It's over 3 km of pain…" Crystal replied. "The 3 Paths are divided into the Skip Path, Catch Path, and the Battle Path. Each path is over a kilometer long and the floor moves backwards… Well, except for the Battle Path. The floor moves forward in there."

Crystal proceeded to explain the mechanics of the 3 Paths. Platinum's expression darkened after each of her senior's sentence.

"A – And… seniors Red and Green want _me_ to go through the paths?"

"And me too, apparently," the Johto girl said with a sigh. "I mean… why do I have to go? This is just torture! Apparently, there was someone a long, long time ago that took 8 hours to get through the Skip Path…"

Platinum shuddered at the thought of running for over 8 hours. "I certainly hope that that does not happen to us…"

3 hours later, the Dex Holders arrived at Two Island. Red went ahead to Cape Brink so that he may borrow/snatch/steal/take the metal ring required to teach Platinum Hydro Cannon while Green stayed behind to ensure that the two younger Dex Holders did not attempt to flee.

"How many of our seniors went through the 3 Paths?" Platinum asked Crystal silently.

"Just two," the Johto girl replied equally quietly. "Red and Green. I think that's the reason why we're here. They want the others to suffer like they did."

"But… how did all of the others learn the ultimate moves?" the heiress asked.

Crystal thought for a second. "Blue… just trained and learned. Gold and I… also just trained. The training itself took two months in total, but it was more stretched out and lightly paced. Silver… just watched. It took him… 5 minutes?"

"Senior Silver took 5 minutes to learn Hydro Cannon?" Platinum asked in shock.

"Somehow… it took me over a month… Gold took two months straight. He's… a slow learner." Crystal suddenly looked a little nervous. "Don't tell him I said that."

"Of course."

"Anyways… Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald didn't take that long to learn the ultimate moves. I think it took them less than an hour."

"Enough chitchat," Green said from behind. "You two need to prepare for the 3 Paths ahead. It would be a shame if you were to mess up."

Crystal sighed. "I… guess you're right."

The Johto girl began to stretch her legs and prepared to do some warm-up exercises. Platinum simply stood there for a second before she joined her senior.

Before long, Red returned with the required ring and a jump rope for the Skip Path. Platinum looked at him rather anxiously. She didn't like the idea of going through the 3 Paths, but at least she was going to finally learn Hydro Cannon. Crystal, on the other hand, simply looked at Red with despair. To her, it was just plain torture.

"Alright, let's get going," the Kanto champion said.

Within a few minutes, Crystal found herself on the Skip Path with Platinum, waiting for the signal to start running and skipping. To her right, her Meganium stood, wondering why exactly it was being forced to go through the 3 Paths. It kept one end of the skipping rope in its mouth while Platinum's Empoleon was holding on to the other end. Platinum looked straight ahead, trying to see the end of the Skip Path. Running and skipping for roughly 1.1 km wasn't hard. But running and skipping while the floor moved backwards (at around 80% of Platinum's running speed) wasn't easy…

The two 'evil' Dex Holders were on their aerial transport Pokémon so that they could reach the end of the Skip Path _very_ easily.

"Okay, START!" Green yelled all of a sudden.

The two girls jumped in surprise and almost lost balance as the floor started to move backwards. The Meganium and Empoleon hastily started to run while swinging the jump rope. Platinum and Crystal started to run, but were unsteady. It didn't take long before the heiress tripped over the rope and hit the floor. As per the rules, the two girls had to restart the Skip Path.

But this time, the two girls were perfectly steady. Within an hour, they were almost near the end of the Skip Path. Red and Green glanced at each other. They had to do something…

Red suddenly sneezed, as loud as he could possibly manage. Crystal jumped in surprise and soon lost balance. Platinum was just about to jump off of the moving floor when Crystal tripped and fell onto the floor.

"Senior…" the heiress gasped out.

"… Sorry…" Crystal said between breaths. "But… Red… … never mind…"

Attempt 3…

Platinum and Crystal were (again) almost near the end of the Skip Path. They were absolutely exhausted, but at least the end was near… But once again, the two 'evil' Dex Holders did their best to thwart the two girls' attempt at the Skip Path. Red had his Aerodactyl Fly straight towards the wall and had it quickly turn to avoid collision.

"Whoa! Aero! Watch where you're going!" Red yelled, pretending to scold his Aerodactyl. "We almost hit the wall headfirst!"

This time, Platinum looked over at Red, wondering what happened. In the split second it took her to remember her predicament, she tripped…

"Back to the beginning with you two," Green said from the side.

Crystal appeared as if she wanted to strangle Red for making Platinum trip. "Why… why are you…"

"Sorry, Crys," Red said with a laugh. "But Aero got distracted and… it wasn't my fault!"

Crystal sat on the floor and tried to catch her breath. Beside her, Platinum was lying on the floor, panting heavily. The Johto girl looked at her two evil seniors.

"Can we take a short break at least?"

"Three minutes," Red said after a short moment of thought.

Crystal groaned, but tried to rest as much as possible in the 3 minutes. She looked at Red and realized that the Kanto champion could be very evil.

"Are you going to make Dia and Pearl go through the 3 Paths?"

"Of course," Red replied.

"With others, or at the same time?"

"With others," Green answered.

"Please make Gold go through this," Crystal begged. "He deserves this kind of thing."

"Sure, why not. We'll make Dia go through the 3 Paths with Gold, and Pearl can go with Blue," Red said.

"What about Ruby, Sapphire, and the others?" Crystal asked.

"They learned the ultimate moves during a crisis. But you, Gold, and Blue didn't have a giant water monster about to kill everyone when you learned the ultimate moves," Green said. "As such, you are Platinum's training partner, Gold is Diamond's, and Blue will be Pearl's."

"You're going to make Blue go through the 3 Paths? How are you going to do that?" Crystal asked.

"We'll ask her nicely," Red said. "And if she says no, then _you'll_ have to be Pearl's training partner."

Crystal groaned again. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"It's not that we hate you. It's just that you were the only one who betrayed our trust."

The Johto girl sighed and shook her head. "Fine… whatever…"

Attempt 4…

Luckily, the two evil Dex Holders did not try to thwart the girls' attempt at completing the Skip Path. Crystal and Platinum were absolutely exhausted, but they did reach the end of the path after an hour. The two girls slowly left the Skip Path and entered the Catch Path. Their feet and legs hurt after attempting the Skip Path for 3 hours straight. But luckily for them, the Catch Path didn't require running, as they would be riding on Dodrios… or so they thought.

"Where are the Dodrios?" Crystal asked. The Catch Path was completely empty other than the four Dex Holders and their Pokémon.

"I don't know. Well, if the Dodrios aren't here, then we'll just have to go without them," Green said. "Crystal, ride your Meganium. Platinum, ride your Rapidash, but have your Empoleon follow you."

The girls did as told and the attempt at completing the Catch Path began. But this time, the girls had absolutely no problem with catching all the falling berries. To Crystal, the falling berries felt quite similar to her training sessions that involved numerous Pokéballs falling all around her. All she had to do was catch them instead of kicking them. As for Platinum, the falling berries felt near identical to the slot machines and the Battle Arcade's roulette. Her eyes darted between the falling berries and her hands moved to catch the berries that her eyes had locked on to a split second ago. The two evil Dex Holders watched, impressed by their juniors' hand-eye coordination and reflexes.

The Catch Path ended without anything bad happening to Crystal and Platinum. Half an hour after starting the Catch Path, the two girls arrived at the Battle Path. As the purpose of going through the 3 Paths (apart from torturing Crystal) was to let Platinum learn Hydro Cannon, the heiress was ordered to only use her Empoleon. Crystal was ordered to only use her Meganium and avoid using Frenzy Plant.

Crystal knew that Platinum would lose in a straight battle, so she ordered her Meganium to focus on defense. As the two girls proceeded with the Battle Path, Platinum quickly became excited at the thought of finally learning Hydro Cannon. Despite being completely exhausted, she ran as fast as she could manage while constantly ordering her Empoleon to attack.

By the end of the path, the two girls were running neck and neck. They both stepped off of the moving floor simultaneously and approached the finish line (the end wall). But Crystal was slightly ahead of Platinum, and at the speed they were running, she would reach the finish line before the heiress. Now Platinum was supposed to reach the finish line first, and since she was on the verge of passing out from exhaustion and thus couldn't possibly run any faster, Crystal had to slow down.

Red and Green stood at the finish line, watching their two juniors. They weren't going to try to thwart the girls' attempt at the Battle Path, but if Platinum did not reach the end first, then as per rules, both Platinum and Crystal had to restart from the very beginning. Following Brinca's… 'rule' involving the 3 Paths, Red and Green were only going to teach whoever reached the finish line first.

Then it happened…

As Crystal tried to slow down, she started to stumble. Her legs felt too heavy from running for so long… A few steps away from the finish line, she tripped. Platinum saw her senior fall and quickly jumped to the side to avoid accidentally kicking or stepping on her. When Crystal hit the ground, because of her momentum, she rolled forward and hit the wall. Platinum reached the wall half a second later.

"… Crys wins!" Red said from beside.

Platinum dropped to the ground, trying to catch her breath. Crystal tried to get to her feet, but her legs wouldn't move. She simply looked at her seniors in despair.

"As per rules, you two will have to restart the entire challenge," Green said from behind.

Crystal looked at him and reached for him as if she wanted to grab him by the collar of his shirt. "Green… stop this… I can't run anymore… I can't run anymore!"

"Seniors…" Platinum gasped out. "I do not think I am ready for the ultimate move…"

Red and Green looked at each other.

"What do you think?" Green asked.

"I think they had enough for today," Red replied. He headed towards the door at the corner of the Battle Path and signaled his two juniors to follow.

Crystal and Platinum struggled up to their feet and staggered after their senior. Once they were outside, the two girls dropped onto the ground again. Red reached down and removed the metal ring from Platinum's wrist. Afterwards, he sent out his Poliwrath. His two juniors were drenched in sweat, so he was going to help them a little. Green sent out his Golduck and helped.

Red pulled out a couple of water bottles from his bag and gave them to his juniors. Crystal sat up and took a drink from the bottle as Red's Poliwrath gently doused her with a weak Water Gun. Platinum removed her hair clips and hat as Green's Golduck soaked her with a very weak Hydro Pump.

"You two are very cruel…" Crystal muttered. "Even now, you're not helping us."

"What do you mean?" Red asked.

"We don't have spare clothes, or coats, or even towels, and you're soaking us," the Johto girl replied. "And it's nighttime!"

Red looked up at the sky and he then noticed that the sky was quite dark. "Oh… … Oh well…"

A few minutes later, the four Dex Holders headed to the harbor. While walking, Red noticed that Platinum and Crystal were shivering. The Kanto champion took off his vest and put it on Platinum. The heiress looked surprised. She bowed to her senior in gratitude and zipped up the vest. Crystal silently grumbled and rubbed her arms to try to fight the cold.

5 hours later, the four Dex Holders arrived in Vermillion City. The two Kanto Dex Holders turned to look at their juniors.

"Tell you what," Red started. "If you two help us force every other Dex Holder to go through the 3 Paths, then we'll teach Hydro Cannon without making you two go through the 3 Paths again."

"Except Yellow," Green added. "She doesn't qualify for this, as she doesn't have a Pokémon that can learn Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn, or Hydro Cannon."

"I may be able to convince Diamond and Pearl, but I do not wish to get my seniors to go through the 3 Paths," Platinum said.

"Getting just Dia and Pearl is fine," Red said. "We'll get Blue to go with Pearl, Gold with Dia, Silver with Emerald, and Ruby with Sapphire. Platinum, if you can get Dia and Pearl to agree, then I can get Sapphire, and she can get Ruby. Crys, you'll have to get Gold and Emerald. And we'll all force Blue and Silver to agree."

"If… if I do get Gold and Emerald to come, then will you forgive me?" Crystal asked.

"Yes," Green replied. "We'll pretend that your betrayal during the whole fake bomb incident never happened."

Crystal sighed. "Then I'm in…"

"Good. Now, go get some rest. We'll form a plan tomorrow," Green said. "Because Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, and Sapphire are not in Kanto or Johto, we'll have to get Silver and Emerald tomorrow."

Red and Green sent out their aerial transport Pokémon so that they may return home. Platinum returned Red's vest and bowed to her seniors. Crystal simply sighed and thought of how she was going to convince Emerald to go through the 3 Paths, and how he would look at her afterwards. She decided that she would simply tell him the truth; Red and Green were evil, and they wanted to get every Dex Holder to suffer through the 3 Paths. Hopefully no one would tell on her and Red and Green will not hear about it.

Next day, 8 am, Pallet Town…

Green was about to leave his house when someone knocked on the door. He opened it and noticed that Blue was waiting outside. Her black eye, which was the result of Green chasing her at the end of the fake bomb incident (accident, as Blue got hit by a tree branch while running), had fully healed.

"Hey, Blue. What do you want?" the Gym Leader asked.

"I've got great news!" the Kanto girl said cheerfully. "You know that whole fake bomb thing we did a few days ago?"

"What about it?"

"I edited the videos and sent them to a television company, and they want to make a show with us!"

Green simply stared at her. "You did what?"

"We'll be working with the president of a talents agency from another region. It turns out she likes Dex Holders and wants to make a weekly television show that features us!"

"This… show you're talking about. Is it like a reality show or something?"

"Nope."

"A game show?"

"Nope."

"Then what?"

"It's kind of like a variety show," Blue started. "We'll be playing games and basically be doing all sorts of things, all for fun."

Green pretended to think. "Hmm… no. I'm not going to be a part of it."

"I know you wouldn't like it, but you get paid a lot," Blue said.

"No amount of money will change my mind."

"You know, one of the reasons why I sent that video to the television company in the first place was so that we'd become famous and be liked by everyone," the Kanto girl explained after a sigh. "That way, people won't chase us away like they did during that Deoxys event years ago. Remember, an angry mob chased me out of the hospital."

Green sighed. "That makes sense…"

"The president wants to meet us in person at Celadon City in three days at noon. So keep that in mind and make sure you're free at that time."

"Fine. But why are you here? You could've just told me this by phone."

"I know," Blue said with a mischievous grin. "I came here so I can gather the Dex Holders and prepare for that meeting. You know, what to say, how to act, what to wear, and things like that. Gold, Sapphire, and Emerald are my main concerns, but they're not the oldest Dex Holders. So Green, get dressed formally and come to my house in 15 minutes. I'm going to get Red and get him to do the same."

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><p><strong>Next up:<strong>

**The first episode of the new television show is airing. The first episode will have the basic introductions of the Dex Holders, and a few simple games, such as test of strength: Sapphire vs. everyone else.**

**Basic information about the new show in SR… I haven't decided the title yet. Most of the episodes will only have 7 Dex Holders appearing, while the others will have all 13. The games that will be played by the Dex Holders will consist of free-for-all, team battle, multi team, and other events. The 7 Dex Holders who will appear constantly have not been decided yet. I don't know who the removed 6 will be.**

**And note: not all future SR chapters will be the Dex Holder show-thing.**


	4. DHC 001 Introduction

**Keep in mind that most (not all, but quite close) of the ideas for the television show came from the television show (well, shows) that I watch on a weekly basis. But because that show isn't really known outside the country it plays, I doubt that any of you readers will know what show I'm talking about. I'll be **_**very**_** surprised if any of you know it. So, for most of you, this whole Dex Holder television show's events would be quite new.**

**Category: SR.**

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><p>Chapter 4: Dex Holders' Challenge Ep. 001: Introduction<p>

Celadon City, 11 am…

Platinum, Diamond, and Pearl arrived at the designated meeting place (in front of the Celadon hotel). The heiress noticed that no other Dex Holder have arrived yet. She sat on a bench nearby and began to check over the stuff in her bag. As ordered by Blue, she had brought a silk dress (which she had no choice but to cram in her bag) and a set of clothes that the heiress would wear for physical activities (so no skirt).

Platinum hoped that she would not have to do anything physically straining. Her legs were still quite sore from the multiple forced (failed) attempts at the 3 Paths… Diamond and Pearl didn't know about the 3 Paths yet, and as per Red and Green's orders, the heiress didn't tell them either.

Within a few minutes, Crystal arrived along with Emerald. The Johto girl waved at the three Sinnoh Dex Holders and sat on the bench beside Platinum. Her legs still ached a little, and in case she had to do some physically straining activities later in the first episode of the new television show, she was going to rest her legs.

Soon the rest of the Dex Holders gathered around in front of the Celadon hotel. Once everyone was there, Blue turned to face them.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, I'll tell you some specifics about the new television show," she started. "The show will be called _The Dex Holders' Challenge_. First… every one of us will have 4 people following at all times during the recordings that are free-for-all style: a main cameraman, a secondary cameraman for different angles, a program director, and a lighting staff. Second, we should be prepared to run anytime, anywhere. So dress appropriately. Third, we must never swear or say anything suggestive." Blue looked at Gold. "That means you, Gold."

Crystal glanced at the goggled boy and looked at her senior. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't do anything."

"Fourth, we should keep all private matters private. As in, don't say anything about what you do off-camera. Fifth, be polite. That means you again, Gold. And Sapphire too. And lastly, keep in mind that everything is recorded and edited before the show airs. So, if we said something or did anything that we don't want people to see, we can always ask the PD to edit that part out."

"When's the first recording?" Red asked. "As in, what time?"

"It's today at 10," Blue replied.

Green glared at her. "If the recording is at 10, why are we here right now?"

"Well, for the majority of us," Blue started. "This will be the first time we'll be on television. So, to make sure that we won't mess up again and again and get all of the recorded parts edited, we'll be practicing with the president of the Talents Agency. She's been on television and live events quite a few times, or so I've heard anyways, so she'll be showing us the basics. She'll be acting as the main PD as well, and will be following the MC."

Later that day, 10 pm…

The 13 Dex Holders stood in a single line, facing the cameras. The girls were wearing dresses while the others wore suits. They had to look nice and formal for the opening and introduction. Blue was right in the middle, as it was decided that she would be the MC. It was either her or Green or Red, and… Green didn't like the idea of the show to begin with, and Red… wouldn't know what to do or say. From left to right, the Dex Holders stood in random order. Red was at the far left, then Crystal, Pearl, Emerald, Platinum, Green, Blue, Sapphire, Yellow, Diamond, Silver, Gold, and Ruby at the far right.

"Hello, everyone," Blue said as she bowed to the camera. The other Dex Holders mimicked her motion. "It's time for the very first episode of _Dex Holders' Challenge_!" As she said the show's name, she turned to her side and extended her right hand towards the camera, as if she had a Pokéball in her hand (the designated pose). The other Dex Holder mimicked her motion again. "We'll start with a basic introduction. I'm Blue from Pallet Town of Kanto," she said as she bowed to the camera again. She looked over to the far left at Red.

The Kanto champion glanced at her and looked at the camera. "I'm Red from Pallet."

The basic introduction continued and ended with Ruby, who finished with a not-so-basic introduction. "I'm Ruby from Littleroot of Hoenn. Remember, if you see me and my beautiful Pokémon in a Contest, vote for me. Vote Ruby!"

"Ruby, stop with your Contest advertisements," Sapphire said. "You suck with the whole 'beautiful design' thing anyways."

Ruby cleared his throat. "Well, Sapphire, if I can make you look beautiful with the clothes I made, I dare say that I'm a pretty good designer."

Sapphire's eyes twitched, but she couldn't think of a response so remained silent. Ruby delivered a v-sign of victory to the camera with his fingers.

"Yo, Fashion Boy, can you make Super Serious Gal look beautiful?" Gold asked. "Or is that an impossible feat even for you?"

Crystal glared at Gold. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ruby looked at the Johto girl and shuddered at her deadly glare. "With that kind of glare, I don't think it's possible. She's too… scary."

"Not you too, Ruby…" Crystal muttered with a groan. Then a thought occurred. "What about Sapphire? She glares at you all the time!"

"She's not scary. But you look like you're ready to kill me," Ruby replied.

Blue clapped her hands. "Anyways… what are we doing today?" she asked the main PD.

"Today, you will divide into 4 teams and will play a series of simple games," replied the PD. "But first, let's move into the hotel. The indoor pool has currently been vacated for us, and we'll be using the pool for some of the games."

"Alright then! Let's go!" Blue yelled as she raised her hand in the air.

30 minutes later…

All 13 Dex Holders stood by the pool edge in their regular clothes except for Blue and Platinum. The Kanto girl had changed into a sky blue T-shirt and matching shorts. The heiress had changed into her training gear, which consisted of a black sleeveless shirt and matching shorts that weren't any longer than her skirt. The training attire had been suggested by Crystal, who claimed that wearing a skirt wasn't that good for running and other physical activities.

Each Dex Holder had a small microphone attached to their shirt so that they could be heard by the cameras without them yelling.

"So, what are we going to do here?" Blue asked.

The main PD handed the Kanto girl a small piece of paper. Blue looked at the paper and noticed that it had the words "Today's Mission" in big letters on the top.

"What's that?" Silver asked.

"_Today's Mission_!" the Kanto girl read out loud. "_Tug of War Supremacy_! Hey, that sounds cool. _Divide by regions and stand on different edge of the pool. Kanto Team must be on opposite end from the Johto Team._"

The other Dex Holders glanced at one another before they moved to form the teams. Yellow noticed that the Kanto Team had 4 members and chose to step aside. Even though she wouldn't be able to exert enough power to make any difference, the other teams would surely argue about the 4th member of the Kanto Team.

"Wait, how are we going to play Tug of War when the other team is on the other side of the pool?" Blue asked.

"It's very simple," the PD replied. "You'll be given a really long rope, and the leading member of your team will be 1 step away from the edge of the pool. Whichever team loses the Tug of War will fall into the water."

"But… it's cold!" Sapphire complained.

"Sapphire, why are you complaining?" Ruby asked. "We'll win. With you on our team, we can't possibly lose."

"Yeah. It's a good thing that a monster like you is on our team," Emerald said from behind.

Sapphire glared at him. "A what?"

"I mean… someone with monstrous strength such as yourself."

Pearl looked at Diamond then at Platinum. "Dia, Miss Lady, I think we're screwed."

Platinum nodded. "I do believe that senior Sapphire can overpower all three of us."

"Alright, let the games begin!" Blue yelled.

Round 1…

Red, Green, and Blue grabbed onto the long rope with Blue in the lead while on the other side, Gold, Silver, and Crystal did the same, with Crystal in the lead. Yellow walked around the pool and made sure that the leading Dex Holders were exactly 1 step away from the edge of the pool. Once she was sure, she walked to the side of the pool and clapped her hands once.

"Begin!" she yelled out.

The two teams began to pull on the rope with all their strength. But because both Red and Green were on Kanto Team, the Johto Team was on the verge of losing. Crystal clenched her teeth and tried her absolute best. But she was inching towards the edge of the pool…

Silver knew that winning was hopeless. But he really didn't want to get soaked… Seeing as how he was behind his teammates, he decided to strike first. He simply let go of the rope.

But at the same time, Gold had let go as well, as he wanted to watch Crystal fall into the pool without falling with her. But unfortunately for him, Crystal let go of the rope immediately upon realizing that her two 'teammates' have already done so. She almost fell into the water in the split second before she let go, and was now on the verge of falling.

"Gold, help!" she yelled out.

The goggled boy snickered and gave the Johto girl a slight nudge on the back. "Oops."

"GOLD!"

Crystal shrieked as she hit the water. Even worse, she did a belly flop, and it sounded _really_ painful. And to make things even worse, the water was very cold. It wasn't that deep, so Crystal was able to stand on her feet. She groaned and brushed her hair out of her face. She turned and glared at Gold.

"Hey, Crys! How's the water?" Gold asked while laughing.

"Why you!" Crystal growled through clenched teeth.

The goggled boy was busy laughing to notice what was about to happen to him. Silver quietly walked behind him and simply pushed. Crystal quickly swam backwards to avoid getting hit by the falling Gold, but unfortunately, the goggled boy made quite a splash that hit her directly in the face.

"Silver!" she yelled in between coughs.

The two soaked Johto Dex Holders soon climbed out of the pool and the next game started. The 3 Hoenn Dex Holders grabbed onto the rope and looked ahead at their juniors. Sapphire was leading the Hoenn Team, and Pearl was leading the Sinnoh Team.

The plan for the Sinnoh Team was very simple. Even though Sapphire was ridiculously strong, she was quite light. Therefore, if the Sinnoh Dex Holders catch her off guard, then they could pull her into the water before she can exert enough force to yank all three of them into the pool. There were quite a few problems with the plan though. Sapphire had very good reflexes. Ruby and Emerald would have slightly more time to react to the Sinnoh Team's plan, and with Emerald and his Magic Hand Extensors, he would be able to hold on to the rope a lot longer without falling off, giving Sapphire ample time to get back into the game if she were to lose balance.

The moment Yellow gave the signal, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum pulled as hard as they could. Sapphire was caught off guard, but she didn't fall into the water. She lost balance, but Ruby held onto the rope tight. Sapphire quickly regained balance and gave the rope a single tug. Pearl fell into the water from that single pull. With both her hands, Sapphire yanked on the rope. Platinum shrieked as she stumbled forward.

"Pearl, please move!" the heiress shrieked out before she fell into the water. Unfortunately, Pearl had just resurfaced and didn't have enough time to get out of the way.

The hasty Dex Holder had barely enough time to look up before Platinum fell on top of him. Luckily the heiress was very light and as such it didn't hurt. But the moment he resurfaced again, Diamond fell on top of him.

The Sinnoh Dex Holders soon climbed out of the pool and the final round began. The Kanto and Hoenn Teams took their position and prepared.

"Wait, what happens to the team that wins?" Sapphire asked.

"Well, the winning team gets to pick whichever team will be stuck cleaning this place after we're done," Blue replied. "This is the first episode, so the penalty is light."

Yellow checked the two teams and gave the signal to start. Sapphire yanked on the rope as hard as she could as soon as she saw the signal. The Kanto Team didn't have enough time to react properly. Red and Green didn't have good grips on the rope yet, and as such, the rope simply slid out of their hands. Blue, on the other hand, had a firm grip and as a result, was pulled along with the rope. The Kanto girl hit the water with a rather painful sounding splash. In an attempt to hide the embarrassment from losing the round so quickly, Blue pretended as if she didn't know how to swim. She was at the deep end, so her feet didn't touch the bottom. She was expecting someone to join in on the act and try to save her, which (she hoped) would result in every Dex Holder in the pool. But unfortunately, the other Dex Holders simply looked at her.

"Blue, we all know you can swim," Green said after a few seconds.

The Kanto girl went completely underwater before resurfacing. She glared at Green and Red. "The idea was for you two to save me."

"Well… we know you can swim, so… it's kind of pointless, isn't it?" Red asked.

Blue sighed. "It's called a situational act, you dense fools," she said as she climbed out of the pool. "If you guys joined in on the act, it would've progressed into something fun!"

"Really?" Green said. "In that case, let's see what happens." Without warning, he pushed Blue back into the pool.

Blue shrieked as she hit the cold water again. But she tried to climb out as soon as possible. "Now the act's not going to be fun!"

"Oh, come on!" Red said as he tried to force her back into the pool. "You should at least give it a try!"

"No, no, no! Let go!" Blue yelled as Green joined his friend in trying to push her in.

Eventually, the Kanto girl fell into the water. With a pout, she swam to a different side of the pool where the Sinnoh Team was standing. Platinum helped her senior climb out of the pool, but the moment she was out of the water, the heiress grinned. Seeing how she was on a variety show…

Platinum simply pushed Blue back into the pool. "Sorry, senior!"

"Not you too!" the Kanto girl yelled out before she hit the water.

For the next few minutes, Blue kept trying to climb out of the pool from multiple sides, only to be pushed back in by her friends and juniors. Only after she got betrayed by all four teams did the others let her finally escape. Soon, all 13 Dex Holders stood facing the cameras in the same order as last time.

"Okay… the Hoenn Team wins!" Blue said as she looked at the Hoenn Dex Holders. She applauded them and the other Dex Holders joined. "So now you get to pick whichever team would get the penalty."

"Could we just pick any 3 people for the penalty?" Sapphire asked.

Blue shrugged. "Sure, why not? Okay then, Sapphire, who do you pick?"

The Hoenn girl grinned. "You, Blue."

"… Oh, so that's why you didn't want to pick a team," the Kanto girl said. "You wanted me but not Red for the penalty, huh?" Sapphire nodded. Blue sighed. "Fine… Ruby, who do you pick?"

"Gold," the ex-Johto boy replied.

Gold groaned and Crystal started to laugh. "Good pick, Ruby!"

"And I pick Crystal!" Emerald said with a grin.

"What?" Crystal yelled. "Why me?"

"Ha, take that, Super Serious Gal!" Gold yelled with a laugh. "Good pick, Odd Boy."

"Well, we have all three members for the penalty," Blue said with a sigh. "So everyone else gets to go home!" She looked at the camera. "We'll see you next week, everyone!"

All 13 Dex Holders bowed to the camera and while shouting the show's name, did the designated pose to signify the end of the show.

* * *

><p><strong>No, SR will not be updated once a week. The "see you next week" thing is only for the show airing in SR.<strong>

**Note: the Sapphire vs. Everyone part had been cut out for the sake of flow, and… it didn't really have the humor I expected. But the completed part is in the What Could Have Been (WCHB, from the MISC of SE #024: The Set Up II). The WCHB for SR chapters with the show is now the "Edited Parts".**

**For the chapters with Dex Holder's Challenge, Yellow will only participate in games that are free for all or are already unbalanced. For the other games, she'll act as a referee/score-keeper.**

**And for those chapters, relevant reviews will also act as comments for the show itself, but magnified by 100. As in, if there is 1 review saying that Platinum should be removed from the show, it would be considered in SR as 100 people telling her to get off. If it happens a lot and frequently, then she will be removed. Why I used Platinum as an example, I'll never know…**

**The removal of a Dex Holder from the show is purely for enjoyment. It's not fun to have a show with super serious characters. Platinum is cheerful, but not funny. With all the formality and overall seriousness, she's not fun at all and won't be unless I give her a fun in-show character. Those in-show characters will be developed over time.**

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><p>What Could Have BeenEdited Parts:

"But before we start cleaning up, there's one thing we should do first," Blue said. She looked at Sapphire directly beside her. "In our tug-of-war game, I got a firsthand experience at how strong you are. I mean, I knew you were strong, but I didn't know you were _that_ strong."

"Here's a demonstration!" Sapphire said. She walked over to Ruby and without warning, lifted him high above her head with one hand.

"Hey, hey, hey! Sapphire, what are you doing?" Ruby exclaimed as he flailed his arms and legs in the air.

The Hoenn girl tossed him in the air like a ragdoll and after catching him, set him back down on the floor. Ruby looked a little dazed as Sapphire returned to her place beside Blue.

"So Sapphire, if we were all to grab onto one end of the tug-of-war rope and you were to pull the other side, do you think you could actually pull all of us?"

"Um…" The Hoenn girl glanced at all of the other Dex Holders before looking at Blue. "How much do you weigh?"

Blue narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going to tell you that!"

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><p><strong>Next up:<strong>

**4 way team battle! Kanto team vs. Johto team vs. Hoenn team vs. Sinnoh team! The winning team gets to spend 2 nights and 3 days at the most luxurious hotel in Kanto, all expenses paid (or will be paid) and all-you-can-eat food. The team that comes last… gets to pay for the expenses in the hotel.**


	5. DHC 002 Museum Race

**This chapter had been uploaded at one point, but was deleted because I realized that I divided it into two parts at the wrong time. So, it's been fixed a little, finished, and re-uploaded. And now, it's pretty damn long…**

**Note: the ending has been rushed (what else is new?) to prevent this chapter from going on forever.**

**As mentioned in SA #014: Tip of the Spear, check my profile for polls, latest news regarding my stories, and answers to reviewed questions.**

**Category: SR.**

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><p>Chapter 5: Dex Holders' Challenge Ep. 002: Museum Race<p>

Pewter City Museum…

All 13 Dex Holders gathered in front of the big museum and looked into the cameras. They bowed to the cameras, yelled out the show's name, and did the designated pose, thus starting the show. Blue turned to look at the museum before she turned to look at the cameras again.

"So, here we are at the Pewter City Museum." She looked left and right at the other Dex Holders. "Who's been here before?"

Everyone except Gold raised their hands. The goggled boy rubbed the back of his neck. The other Dex Holders looked at him.

"You have never been to the famous Pewter City Museum before, senior?" Platinum asked.

"Of course he hasn't," Crystal answered instead. "He's not the kind who'd actually go somewhere remotely educational." She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Idiot…"

Gold turned to look at her. "… Crys, did I do something to get on your nerves?" he asked. But before Crystal could reply, he smirked and looked away. "I probably did. You do have a hair-trigger temper, after all."

Crystal narrowed her eyes. "… I'll talk to you after this recording," she growled out.

Blue clapped her hands and looked at the PDs. "So… why did we come to the museum _after it closed_?" she asked as an attempt to lighten the mood.

The main PD handed her the mission sheet like the previous episode.

"Keep in mind that today, the winning team will be able to spend 2 nights and 3 days at the greatest hotel in Kanto, and the team that comes in last will have to pay for that."

"Team that comes in last? So this is a multi-team battle?" Blue asked before looking at the mission sheet.

"Yes," the main PD replied. "A four way race, actually." She thought for a second before she continued. "Now, we will be recording inside the museum, so just like last episode, the winning team will get to pick 3 people who will clean up after we finish."

Blue looked at the mission sheet. "Okay… _Four Way Museum Race! Divide by regions and compete in various games to reach the final destination first!_"

Pearl shrugged. "Well, I don't know about the cleaning part, but even if we lose, I don't see any reason to worry about paying for that hotel. Miss Lady has more than enough money to buy that entire thing."

Platinum suddenly looked a little guilty. She looked at Diamond and Pearl and nervously played with her hair. "I… um… actually left all of my money back in Sinnoh."

"Miss Lady! Why?" Pearl asked.

"It… was my own idea, actually," the heiress replied. "In order to properly develop my asset management skills, I need to have limited finances. I will not be withdrawing any money from my family bank. If we lose, then we will have to pay for the hotel with whatever money we have on hand."

"Dia," Pearl started. "If we lose, we're screwed… Hey, wait a minute…" The hasty Dex Holder glared at the main PD. "Why are you forcing us to pay for the hotel? You give us a paycheck and force us to pay for a ridiculously expensive hotel right afterwards? Why do you think we're even in this show? Do you think we're doing community service or something?"

The main PD simply shrugged, clearly unfazed by the deadly glare Pearl was giving her. "Don't lose then."

Pearl sighed and looked away.

Blue clapped her hands. "Well, let's go into the museum now!"

20 minutes later…

The 4 groups of Dex Holders each waited in their respective locker rooms, waiting for the PDs to give them a specific instruction. For the sake of team equality, Yellow was acting as PD for the Hoenn team.

"I guess it's a good thing that the staff warned us about this a couple of days ago," Red started.

"What do you mean?" Blue asked.

"If the start of this episode is at 11 pm, then… when's it going to end? It's a good thing I slept until 3 pm today."

"I woke up pretty late, too," Blue said. "Well… noon." She turned to look at Green. "What about you?"

"Same time as I always," the Gym Leader replied. "I'll be fine."

Soon, the main PD entered and gave the 3 Kanto Dex Holders what appeared to be nametags. The nametags were kind of big (roughly 15cm x 8cm) and were one of those sticky pads that stick on to specific surfaces.

"Oh, so that's why you guys sewed those sticky pads on our backs a few minutes ago," Blue said as she looked at the nametags.

Three staff members took the nametags and put them on the three Dex Holders' backs, as the sticky pads were sewn on the back of the shirts. The main PD handed Blue the mission sheet. The Kanto girl received and read it out loud.

"_Receive the first hint! The first hint is in a locker in the locker room you are waiting in. Your mission: obtain the lock combination from behind Crystal's nametag. Your locker number is 1024._" She looked at the main PD. "So… we just go find Crys and remove her nametag, get the lock combination and we get the first hint, huh?" The main PD nodded. The Kanto girl thought for a second. "So… assuming the other teams have the same mission with different people, then that means that someone will try to remove one of our nametags to get their hint…"

Green approached Blue and partially removed the nametag. He didn't find anything. The Kanto girl did the same thing to the Viridian Gym Leader, and also found nothing. She then moved to Red and partially removed his nametag. She could see a lock combination on the inner side of the nametag. She patted him on the back.

"You're it, Red. Looks like some of our juniors are aiming for you."

The Kanto champion simply shrugged. "Let them come." A thought occurred and he looked at his teammates. "Do you think the Johto guys know who has the lock combination on their team?"

Blue thought for a short while. "I doubt it. Gold's an idiot, and while Silver and Crys are smart, they don't have much life experience."

Meanwhile…

The Johto team glanced at their mission sheet.

"_Obtain the lock combination from behind Pearl's nametag_," Crystal read out. "_Your locker number is 4259._"

"Pearl? No problem," Gold said as he rose to his feet. "Let's go get him."

As Blue expected, Silver and Crystal simply followed, not thinking of who might have the lock combination on their team.

Hoenn team…

Sapphire stared at the mission sheet. "Um… _Obtain the…_ something… _from behind Red's…_ something… _Your…_ something…_ is 2401._"

Ruby took the sheet from her and read out loud. "Ahem. _Obtain the lock combination from behind Red's nametag. Your locker number is 2401._" He looked over at Sapphire. "I thought I told you to practice reading."

Sapphire let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of her neck. "Hey, wait… we have to get Red? Uh oh…"

Emerald crossed his arms/Magic Hand Extensors. "Well, if you two idiots distract them, I can probably remove that nametag from far behind."

Yellow, who had been standing with the staff, looked at her juniors. "Ruby, can you use your Running Shoes here?"

Ruby shook his head. "No. I can't use it indoors. I'll end up running into a wall before I even know what happened."

"Well, even if you could," the Kanto Dex Holder started. "Don't use them, please. It's not fair for the other teams."

Sinnoh team…

The three Sinnoh Dex Holders stared at the mission sheet in disbelief.

"… Dia, Miss Lady, I think we're screwed…" Pearl muttered.

"… Senior Sapphire?" Platinum muttered. "We are incapable of outrunning her, let alone overpower her. She is much stronger than all of us put together. What are we going to do?"

Pearl thought for a second. "… We could try to trick her. This mission sheet didn't say who was after us. So it's the same for the Hoenn team. They don't know that we're after them."

"So we could surround Emerald and strike at Sapphire when she least expects it," Diamond added.

Platinum started to think. "Um… okay. We will pretend that our target is senior Emerald. Then he will definitely try to retreat. Most likely senior Sapphire will stay behind to make sure that we do not follow. Senior Ruby would most likely follow senior Emerald in case we manage to get past senior Sapphire. That is our time to strike."

"Good plan, Miss Lady," Pearl said from the side.

"But first… we should check to see who is after us, and more specifically, which one of us is their target."

Diamond partially removed Platinum's nametag. "You're safe, Lady," he said upon finding nothing.

Platinum returned the favor to Diamond and didn't find anything. She then checked Pearl's nametag and could see a set of numbers on a sticky pad on the inside of the nametag.

"Ah, Pearl, it seems that some of our seniors will be chasing you," she said as she re-stuck the nametag.

"Okay… so all we need to find out is… which team is after me."

_**Current situation:**_

_**Kanto team:  
><strong>__**Locker number: 1024. Target: Crystal.**_

_**Johto team:  
><strong>__**Locker number: 4259. Target: Pearl.**_

_**Hoenn team:  
><strong>__**Locker number: 2401. Target: Red.**_

_**Sinnoh team:  
><strong>__**Locker number: 3043. Target: Sapphire.**_

The Kanto team soon came out of their locker room. Blue glanced left and right to see if the Johto team was anywhere near. She wasn't particularly worried about losing, seeing how both Red and Green were with her. The Kanto girl took the lead as she began to search for her juniors. Red followed right after and Green trailed behind a little, in case someone tried to ambush Red from behind. As Blue turned the corner, she ran into Platinum.

"Oh, sorry, Platinum."

The heiress shook her head a little. "No, it was my fault senior." She looked at her senior suspiciously and took a step backwards. "… Senior, are you after us?"

"No, no," Blue said truthfully (for once). "What about you? Are you after us?"

"No, senior," the heiress answered.

Diamond and Pearl appeared from around the corner and stood behind her. They glanced around to see if the Hoenn team was nearby.

"Who are you after?" Red asked the Sinnoh team.

"We are after… um… senior Gold," Platinum lied.

Blue let out a laugh. "Platinum, don't lie. You're a bad liar."

"How did you…" the heiress muttered.

"Because _we're_ after the Johto team," Blue answered.

"So you're after the Hoenn team," Green said from behind Blue.

"How do you know?" Pearl asked.

"Well, if we're after the Johto team and you guys are not after us, then seeing how no team should be targeted by more than one team, that makes you guys after the Hoenn team. That also means that the Johto team is after you, and that the Hoenn team is after us," Blue said after a short moment of thought.

"So… want to form an alliance?" Red suggested. "I mean… we're after the Johto team who is after you, and you're after the Hoenn team who's after us. So if we work together…"

"… That is a good idea, senior," Platinum said after a moment of thought. "Okay. We should form an alliance."

The 6 Dex Holders started to discuss their plans to lure the other teams. Not knowing that the Kanto and Sinnoh teams were plotting together, the Hoenn team approached from afar. Although the Kanto team failed to see the Hoenn team approaching, Platinum (whose small frame had been completely covered from view by Red) could see them. Blue noticed that Platinum was looking elsewhere and looked back.

"Ah, they're coming," she whispered to her teammates and allies. "Red, run!"

The Kanto champion glanced back and could see Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald running after him. Red started to run as fast as he could. The Sinnoh Dex Holders took cover around the corner and waited while the remaining two Kanto Dex Holders stayed behind to 'stall' the Hoenn Dex Holders. Since Ruby wasn't using his Running Shoes (wasn't allowed to, and wasn't able to indoors anyways), Sapphire was in the lead (fastest) while Emerald trailed behind (slowest).

The Hoenn girl tried to plow through her two Kanto seniors, but Blue had seen that coming and quickly crouched and grabbed Sapphire's leg. The Hoenn girl ended up tripping, giving Red ample time to run away. As he ran, he glanced back. He could see Sapphire trying to get back to her feet while Ruby and Emerald tried to force their way past Green. Red continued running. His teammates and Sinnoh team may have the Hoenn team distracted, but that didn't mean that he could just stand around. The Johto team was somewhere, doing something…

Meanwhile, the Sinnoh team jumped towards Emerald, as planned. Emerald jumped back in surprise, realizing that the Sinnoh team was after him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he yelled out as his juniors surrounded him. He glanced at Ruby and Sapphire. "Get back here and protect me, you fools!"

Sapphire quickly jumped back to her feet and simply rammed into Diamond and Pearl from behind. She pushed the two Sinnoh boys far away from Emerald and quickly rescued her teammate. She then stepped ahead of Emerald to keep Platinum away while Ruby dragged Emerald away from the combat zone.

"Ruby, get Emerald and run!" Sapphire yelled out while keeping all three Sinnoh Dex Holders at bay. She grinned and looked at Platinum. "Didn't think that this would happen, did you?"

Platinum resisted the urge to smile. She pretended to look desperate and tried to reach past her senior. The two Kanto Dex Holders simply watched the commotion, waiting for Ruby and Emerald to go away. Once the two Hoenn Dex Holders were out of sight, the two Sinnoh boys quickly moved behind Sapphire while the two Kanto Dex Holders moved to her sides.

"Senior Sapphire, to answer your question," Platinum started. "Yes, I have anticipated this to happen."

"Huh?"

"Senior Sapphire, _you_ are our target!"

Sapphire sighed. "I should've seen this coming… there's no way I'd be able to foresee your plans… You're way too smart…"

"Thank you for the compliment, senior." Platinum looked at Pearl for a split second. The hasty Dex Holder caught her gaze and instantly lunged at Sapphire.

The Hoenn girl instantly spun around to prevent her junior from removing her nametag. At that time, the surrounding Dex Holders all reached towards her. Platinum almost touched her senior's nametag, but Sapphire spun around again. She placed a hand on her back and desperately tried to escape.

"Ruby, help!" she yelled out. But unfortunately, her two teammates were already too far away to hear.

Blue quickly grabbed her junior's shoulders and forcefully tried to turn her so that she'd look at her. Taking the small time of distraction, Green quickly removed Sapphire's nametag. But the girl managed to snatch it back and quickly crumpled it. With the crumpled nametag (and the sticky pad with the lock combination) in her fist, she tried to force her way out.

Meanwhile, Red hastily turned a corner and ran straight into Gold. At that time, Silver popped out of hiding, in case the 'intruder' was Pearl. The Kanto champion acted calm (for once) and tried to appear casual.

"Hey, where's Crys?" he asked.

"Why do you ask?" Gold asked instead.

"I was just wondering, because…" Red suddenly smirked. "Because… don't you always follow her around?"

"What?" Gold yelled out. "_I_ follow _her_? More like she follows me!"

"Really?" Red taunted. "That's not what I hear from Crys."

"Super Serious Gal!" Gold yelled out. He turned around and opened a door, revealing Crystal, who had been hiding so she may hear and interpret various hints. "What've you been going around telling people?"

"What?" the Johto girl yelled out. "What are you talking about? And what's wrong with you? The idea was for you to go out there and lure people, not reveal where your teammates are hiding!"

Seeing Crystal, Red glanced at both Gold and Silver. "Hey, everyone else is over there, along with whoever your target is," he said as he pointed far behind.

The two Johto Dex Holders glanced at where their senior was pointing, and taking that chance, the Kanto champion dashed straight towards Crystal. The Johto girl then realized that she was Red's target, but it was too late. The Kanto champion simply pushed his junior away from the door (gently though) and got his cameraman to keep the door shut.

Gold and Silver realized their mistake and tried to open the door to save their teammate, but the Kanto champion's cameraman kept the door tightly shut. Crystal tried her best to run away from her senior, but Red was faster. Crystal realized that escaping was hopeless. She simply pressed her back against the wall as an effort to stall. Red stood in front of her, not knowing how to proceed.

"Uh… Crys, why don't you just let me remove your nametag?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean… it's awkward and embarrassing for both of us if I try to take it by force…"

Crystal swallowed nervously. "I know… Um… how about we make a deal?" she asked. "If you promise that your team won't pick me for the cleaning duty, then I'll give you the nametag."

"Assuming our team wins?"

"Of course your team will win. Who can possibly beat you?"

Red thought for a second. "Sorry, but no deal. That decision is not mine to make."

Crystal shrieked as her senior forcefully grabbed her shoulders and pulled her off the wall. In order to make things less embarrassing for him, Red forcefully spun her around and pushed her against the wall (gently) so that her back was still facing him. He kept her pinned against the wall with one hand while he used the other to grab her nametag.

"Wait, wait! Just promise me that you'll pick Gold!" Crystal said desperately.

Red shrugged. "Sure, why not." He pulled off Crystal's nametag and looked inside. He removed the small sticky pad with the lock combination and put the nametag back on his junior's back. He let go of Crystal and backed away. "Sorry, Crys."

Meanwhile, Sapphire desperately tried to crawl away from the 5 Dex Holders who still had her pinned on the floor. It's been 15 minutes since she was ambushed, and she still didn't manage to escape. Her two teammates were nowhere to be seen either.

Green and Blue glanced at each other. The Kanto girl kneeled on the ground and grabbed both of Sapphire's feet to prevent her from moving. Green kept the Hoenn girl's right arm from moving by placing his knee on her wrist. Diamond ended up _sitting_ on Sapphire's back while Pearl tried his best to keep her left arm immobile. Platinum's job was to try to pry open her senior's left fist (where the crumpled nametag was).

Sapphire clenched her eyes shut and with a really loud yell, tried to push herself off of the floor. Surprisingly, she was able to get to her knees, despite 5 Dex Holders pinning her down. Platinum gasped in shock. She instantly let go of her senior's fist and backed away.

"This is… impossible…" she muttered.

"That's it! Last resort!" Blue yelled out. "Platinum, tickle her!"

"What? Come on, that's not fair!" Sapphire yelled out.

Platinum carefully approached her and began to tickle her mercilessly. Sapphire began to thrash around, forcing Diamond off of her and freeing her limbs from the grasp of Green and Blue in the process.

Meanwhile, the door opened in front of Gold and Silver, and Red and Crystal came out. The Kanto champion simply walked past his Johto juniors while Crystal stopped in front of them with a sullen expression.

"Thanks for helping, you jerk," she said to Gold with a sigh.

"So what now?" the goggled boy asked.

"Just because Red got the combination from you, it doesn't mean that we lost," Silver said, looking at Crystal. "All we have to do is get the lock combination from Pearl and find the hint faster than everyone else."

"We've got nothing to lose, so… let's go!" Gold yelled. Without waiting for a response, he turned and started to run.

At the same time, Ruby and Emerald finally realized that things were odd and started to run towards where they left Sapphire behind. So every Dex Holder was starting to converge at one location…

Green and Blue could see Red running towards them and realized that it was time to go. Without warning, they simply rose to their feet.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Pearl yelled out.

"We got what we wanted, so… you're on your own!" Blue said with a treacherous laugh. "Keep Sapphire and the rest of Hoenn team occupied for us!"

"There they are now," Green said.

The Sinnoh Dex Holders looked and could see Ruby and Emerald running towards them. They were still quite far away, but were closing in fast. Sapphire could see her teammates despite the tears in her eyes. She tried her absolute best to withstand the ruthless tickle-torture as long as she could. As an act of desperation, Diamond and Pearl joined in on the tickling. But from behind, the Johto Dex Holders have spotted Pearl and were running towards him…

Platinum glanced back and could see her Johto seniors running closer. As an act of desperation, she started to pinch Sapphire's hand, _really_ hard.

"Just let go, senior!" she screamed.

The heiress glanced back again and started to pound her senior's fist with her own. _Finally_, Sapphire's grip on her nametag loosened and Platinum was able to wrench it out. The Sinnoh team jumped to their feet and ran away from the coming Johto _and_ Hoenn teams. Ruby and Emerald stopped in front of Sapphire and looked at her.

Sapphire sat up with a groan and glared at her two teammates. "What are you doing? Go find Red!"

Ruby and Emerald flinched and hastily ran to find the Kanto champion. They didn't want to deal with Sapphire when she was enraged. The Hoenn girl sat up and removed the glove on her hand. She could see that her hand had various red marks caused by Platinum's ruthless pinches and pounds. Sapphire gritted her teeth. She looked into the camera and left a message for Platinum so that the heiress may hear it when she watched the broadcast of the current recording.

"Platinum… you're _dead_. It may not be today, or next episode, but someday, I _will_ get you for this…"

Meanwhile, the Kanto team approached their locker and with the sticky pad that was forcefully removed from Crystal's nametag. After opening it, they found a piece of paper with the hint written on it. Blue looked at it and only found the number 141 on it. Green looked at the number then folded the hint paper before putting it in his pocket.

But before her two teammates could think about what the hint meant, a thought came to Blue.

"Oh, I just had a _great_ idea!" she said with a treacherous smile.

Red and Green looked at her, wondering what she had in mind.

"The Hoenn guys don't know what their lock combination is, and don't know what it's supposed to be," Blue started. "So, if we were to… say, _replace_ the sticky pad in Red's nametag with the one we got from Crys…"

"… You are a devious monster," Green said as he shook his head.

But Blue removed Red's nametag anyways and after ensuring that the two lock combinations were not the same, replaced the sticky pad. She then placed the nametag back on Red's back and put the original sticky pad inside the Kanto team locker before locking it. With a sinister laugh, she walked away. Red and Green were about to follow when the main PD stopped them.

"Now that you found the first hint," she started. "It's time for you to go find the next hint." She handed the two Kanto Dex Holders a sheet of paper. "Here's the hint's location."

Red and Green looked at the sheet. Again, they found more numbers and nothing else. The top of the sheet had the numbers 60, 120, 105, 65, 70, and 80. The bottom had the number 182. The two Kanto Dex Holders stared blankly at the sheet before they took it to Blue.

Meanwhile, Platinum had successfully opened her team's locker and found the hint. Unlike the Kanto team, a thought arose and the heiress pulled out her Pokédex from her bag (which her team's staff was carrying). She searched for the 141st Pokémon and soon found the data for Kabutops. She stared at the image for a few seconds before she put her Pokédex away.

The Sinnoh team's PD gave her the sheet of paper with the next hint. Platinum took it and examined the series of numbers. She looked at the cameras with a smile.

"Well, the hints are pretty obvious," she said. "I do recall reading an article about an unusually large Dome Fossil being found in the excavation site near Mt. Moon. I do believe that some of the measurements of the fossil including its weight and dimensions are written on this sheet."

The PD stared at her, simply baffled at how quickly she was able to figure out what the hints were. "What makes you think that the hint is referring to that Dome Fossil?"

Platinum smiled again. "The first hint is 141, which is Kabutops' Pokédex number. Since the Pewter Museum is famous for holding exhibits of fossils of Omastar, Kabutops, and Aerodactyl, I was convinced that the final destination was related to Kabutops. And since Kabutops is the evolved form of Kabuto and Kabutos are revived from Dome Fossils, I believe that I am on the right track." She looked at the second hint sheet and looked at the cameras again. "Also, that Dome Fossil was found in 182 pieces. It was estimated that if the Kabuto had not been fossilized, it would have evolved into a Kabutops that would weigh in between 70 and 80 kg, which would make it _quite_ heavy compared to normal."

"… Wow…" the PD muttered.

"And if I am not mistaken," the heiress continued. "I believe that a replica of that fossil is being displayed somewhere in this museum, and the replica is 60 cm thick, 120 cm long, and 105 cm tall."

As if to prove her point, Platinum pulled out something from her bag. It was a recently published scientific magazine. The heiress turned to page 65, which had the details of the Dome Fossil.

"Did you memorize this for no reason?" the PD asked.

"No," Platinum replied. She put the magazine back into her bag and gave it to her team's staff. "I have read that article yesterday and I wanted to come here to see the exhibit." She started to walk out of the locker room so she could find the exhibit. She had discussed the plan with her teammates before separating and all three agreed that the best plan would be to have Diamond and Pearl run and hide from the Johto team while Platinum went to interpret and find hints. "But even if I am wrong and these numbers are purely coincidental, it will not be a complete waste of time."

Meanwhile, the Kanto team headed towards the nearest exhibit related to Kabuto and Kabutops, after coming to the same conclusion about the first hint as Platinum. They had no idea what the second hint was, but at least they were pretty confident about the first hint. But as they turned a corner, they walked into Sapphire.

The Hoenn girl simply looked at her seniors, not knowing what to do. Her teammates were searching somewhere else for Red, leaving her all alone. Sapphire glanced between all three of her seniors, wondering what would happen if she tried to take Red's nametag by force. Instead, she chose to aim for sympathy.

"Red, can you please show me and my team mercy and give us your nametag?" she asked as she dropped to her knees. "Our team is last, and I really don't think we'll be able to get the first hint without your help…"

Red looked at his two teammates. Green simply ignored him and Blue pretended to think. With a smile, she nodded. Red walked over to Sapphire and patted her on the head.

"Well… I guess we'll be generous," he said.

Sapphire clasped her hands together and looked at her senior with gratitude. "Oh, thank you, thank you!"

She jumped to her feet and gently removed her senior's nametag. She retrieved the sticky pad and put the nametag back on her senior's back. Afterwards, she bowed to her senior again and again, thanking him repeatedly until the Kanto Dex Holders left. She then hastily ran back towards her locker room so she may try to open the locker. Once she was far away, Red turned to look at Blue.

"Thanks to you, she's going to hate me now," he said with a sigh.

"No, she'll hate Blue," Green said from the side. "She'll see the broadcast and find out that pesky girl was the one who swapped the sticky pad."

Blue smiled and looked at the camera. "Sorry, Sapphire, but sometimes, you have to cheat to win."

Red sighed again and glanced around, to see if he could locate any of his juniors. He abruptly stopped when he saw someone. "Hey, isn't that Platinum over there?" he asked his teammates as he pointed at a Dome Fossil exhibition far away.

Green and Blue looked over and noticed that Platinum was indeed near the Dome Fossil exhibition, appearing as if she was looking for something. Seeing her junior, another evil thought came to Blue. With a sinister smile, she signaled her teammates to follow as she silently ran towards Platinum.

The heiress was busy carefully looking near the replica of the special Dome Fossil, wondering if there really was a hint around there somewhere. She was currently engrossed with partially looking at the exhibit and looking for the hint at the same time, and as such, she had no idea that the entire Kanto team was running towards her.

By the time Platinum heard the coming footsteps and turned around, Red and Green were right behind her. Before the heiress could even jump in surprise, the two Kanto Dex Holders had each grabbed onto her arm and lifted her off the ground.

"Thanks for leading us here, Platinum," Blue said with a grin. "You see, we had no idea what the second sheet was about."

"I… um… do not know either," the heiress lied. "I am only here because I am interested in this Dome Fossil exhibit."

The Kanto girl gave a short laugh. She patted her junior on the shoulder. "Don't try to lie, Platinum. You really are a bad liar." She looked at her teammates. "Red, Green, make sure her feet don't touch the ground until I find whatever she was looking for."

"I should have paid more attention around me…" the heiress muttered after a sigh. She looked at the two Kanto Dex Holders who were holding her captive. "Seniors, you are hurting me. I promise I will not run, so would you please release me?"

"Sorry Platinum, but… I can't," Red replied.

Meanwhile, the Johto team had successfully ambushed Diamond and Pearl near the meteorite exhibit and obtained the sticky pad with the lock combination. They them promptly ditched their juniors and ran towards their locker room to open their hint locker.

At that time, the Hoenn team was in their locker room, wondering why exactly their lock wouldn't open.

"Are you sure this is the right locker?" Emerald asked.

"Well… yeah," Ruby replied as he examined the instruction sheet. "But… why isn't this thing opening?"

Emerald crossed his (fake) arms and looked at Sapphire. "Are you sure this is even the right lock combination?"

"I'm sure it is. I removed it from Red's nametag myself…" A thought occurred and she groaned. "… Unless… he tricked me! No wonder he gave up his nametag so easily!"

"You idiot!" Emerald yelled.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know?" Sapphire yelled back.

Ruby sighed. "In that case… we're done for. We lost…"

Meanwhile, the Johto team finally opened their locker and found the first hint. They received the second sheet afterwards, but they didn't really need it.

"141… that's Kabutops' Pokédex number," Crystal started. "And I know that there's a fully intact Kabutops fossil on display in this museum. Chances are, that's our final destination."

"Really?" Gold asked. "In that case… where is it?"

"Opposite side of the museum," the Johto girl replied. "We don't have much time. We have to get there now!"

The Johto team started to run as fast as they could towards the opposite side of the museum where the fully intact Kabutops fossil was on display. Halfway there, Blue had finally found the final hint near the Dome Fossil replica, much to Platinum's dismay.

"Ha, I found it!" the Kanto girl exclaimed happily. She carefully reached behind the corner of the Dome Fossil replica and gently removed the final hint sheet. She looked into it and grinned. Without warning, she started to run _with_ the hint sheet. "Red, Green, ditch Platinum and follow!"

The two Kanto Dex Holders did as ordered and instantly released Platinum and followed Blue as fast as they could. The heiress tried to follow, but it seemed that her seniors were a lot faster than her…

"Wait, seniors!" Platinum cried out. "At least leave the hint sheet!" Realizing that she could not catch up to her seniors, she sighed. "Now I have no choice but to follow only my interpretations of the first hint…"

Blue glanced back and could see that Red and Green had caught up with her. She smiled and recited the hint from the final hint sheet. "_Find the two stone blades._ Of course, the only type of blades that could possibly be in this museum is the ones that are on the arms of Kabutops. And after being fossilized, the blades become rock and not bones. So, that is our final destination."

Platinum took a deep breath and began to sprint as fast as she could. Based on the first hint, she knew that the final destination was Kabutops related. The only exhibit in the Pewter City Museum that was related to Kabutops was the fully intact fossil on display…

3 minutes later…

The Kanto team arrived at the section of the museum with the Kabutops fossil display. They could see three flags placed in front of the fossilized remains, with the numbers 1, 2, and 3 on them respectively. Seeing how no one was following them, the Kanto team slowed down and grabbed the flag with the number 1 with some time to spare.

Blue sat down on the floor and tried to catch her breath, relieved that her team won. It had been a tiring day so far, so she couldn't wait to relax in the greatest hotel of Kanto.

Within a few minutes, Platinum came into view. The heiress slowed down and weakly grabbed the flag with the number 2. She sat beside her senior and stretched her sore legs.

"Senior… you are very cruel…" the heiress said between breaths.

"Sorry, Platinum," Blue said with an apologetic smile. "But I promise that I won't pick you for the cleanup duty." She looked at the main PD. "So what happens now?"

"Well, the Kanto team is first, Sinnoh team is second, so whichever team grabs the remaining flag is third. And the final team gets to pay for the hotel."

"Oh, there's someone now," Blue said as she noticed three people running closer. "Hey, it's the Johto team!"

Gold, Silver, and Crystal realized that they weren't last and grabbed the last flag before slowing down. Now that the first, second, and third places have been determined, the race was officially over. The announcement soon came from the museum's PA system.

An hour later, all 4 teams gathered near the entrance of the museum and faced the cameras. Blue cleared her throat looked at the camera that was aiming at her face.

"Alright then! The Kanto team wins!" she exclaimed happily. Her two teammates raised an arm in the air as a silent celebration. Blue sighed. "Show _some_ reaction, guys… Anyways, Sinnoh team is second, and Johto team is third! And that leaves the Hoenn team to pay for our trip to the greatest hotel!"

The Hoenn Dex Holders sighed. They had no idea how they were going to pay for the hotel.

"… How about we make one person pay for everything?" Emerald suggested.

Ruby and Sapphire glanced at each other before nodding. "You're on."

The three Hoenn Dex Holders glanced at each other.

"Rock!"

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

Ruby drew scissors. Emerald and Sapphire both drew rock. Emerald and Sapphire jumped in joy while laughing heartily.

Ruby groaned and looked at the PD. "How much do I have to pay?"

The main PD checked her notes before replying. "253 000 PKD."

Ruby's mouth opened in shock. After a second, he looked at the other Dex Holders. "… Can I borrow some money?"

"Now then, Kanto team, who do you pick for the cleanup duty?"

"Emerald," Green said.

Red cleared his throat and Crystal looked at him expectantly. "Relax, Crys. I pick… Gold."

"Not again…" the goggled boy muttered.

"Yes! Thank you!" Crystal exclaimed happily.

Blue grinned. "Gold _and_ Emerald? Now, they're going to need some supervision. So Crys, I pick you."

Crystal groaned. "Great… I'm stuck with those two?"

"Sorry, Crys," Blue said. "I promise I won't pick you for the penalty in the next game if we win." She looked at the cameras again. "Well, that's it for this week! Join us next week for the next episode!"

All 13 Dex Holders bowed to the camera and did the designated pose while shouting the show's name, thus ending the episode.

* * *

><p><strong>Hint solutions: as mentioned, 141 is the Pokédex number for Kabutops. Next (this may not be obvious), 60, 120, 105, 65, 70, and 80 are its base stats. 60 HP, 120 Attack, 105 Defense, 65 Special Attack, 70 Special Defense, and 80 Speed. 182 would probably be the hardest hint. 182 is the hex-value (or in this case, Special stat) required to encounter the Kabutops fossil Missingno. in the first generation games. Of course, the base stats and the hex-value would be impossible to state in Pokémon-Special-world, so… I made some random stats with those numbers.<strong>

**Next up:**

**Someone (or some group) is threatening the Trainer's School in Rustboro City from the inside. The solution? Send in a Dex Holder to root out the problem. Of course, that Dex Holder can't be **_**too**_** famous… (not DHC)**


	6. Trainer's School

**Keep in mind that not all SR chapters will be funny. They're not supposed to be. Majority will be attempts at humor, but there may be a few tragic moments every now and then. This chapter is not one of those tragic moments, but is not supposed to be funny either. Obviously, every DHC chapter is supposed to be funny and not tragic.**

**The focus of this chapter is **_**not**_** on dealing with the rebellious group within the Trainer's School, but rather elsewhere while that is happening. Also, this is a prelude to a future SR (was once supposed to be SE) chapter.**

**Category: SE.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Trainer's School<p>

Rustboro City, Hoenn…

Roxanne walked towards her office in the Trainer's School compound, carrying a folder of unmarked tests. Those tests would determine who would end up challenging her in a Gym Battle, and she looked forward to it.

Outside her office, she could see some students waiting while talking to each other. They must've been waiting to get some extra help or something.

"I heard that someone's trying to steal all the Pokémon in this school," said one of the students.

Roxanne froze in place. She paid closer attention to the conversation from afar.

"Yeah, I got a note on my locker asking whether or not I wanted to join."

Surprised, Roxanne quickly approached them. "Is it true what you said?" she asked hastily.

"Ah, Miss Roxanne! I'm afraid so. Someone is trying to steal all the Pokémon here. It's a rumor that's been going around, but I think several students are a part of this."

"Hmm… if you were to battle this group, what do you think would happen?" the Gym Leader asked, hoping to determine the overall strength of this group.

"I really doubt that any of the other students will have a chance," the student replied. "From what I heard, some of the best students are involved. But I'm not sure who's exactly in the group."

Roxanne put a hand on her chin and thought. If the school's best students were involved, then it would be rather difficult to root out the problem. She would need help from the inside of the group. She needed someone smart enough to be effective, but strong enough to be able to join this rebellious group.

Later that day, she contacted Professor Birch and informed him of the problem. She suggested getting Sapphire to the Trainer's School so she may help, but the professor knew that his daughter wasn't the best candidate for the job. Instead, he contacted Professor Oak to discuss it with him. The conclusion was that they needed someone calm (so that they don't get carried away), someone that's not well known (so people don't recognize them), but also highly skilled in battling.

"Any suggestions?" Professor Oak asked the gathered Dex Holders (everyone except Ruby and Sapphire). The three Sinnoh Dex Holders were on a tour around Kanto and its tourist attractions, but duty called. "We'll need someone to go into that Trainer's School as a new student and join that group. Of course, that someone will need to enjoy school and studying…"

"What about us, professor? I think we can handle it," Blue said after taking a brief glance at Red and Green.

"No, you guys are too ol-" the professor stopped himself before he went too far. He pretended to cough. '_That was close._'

"Too what, professor?" Blue asked with a rather ominous smile. She appeared perfectly calm and cheerful, but the professor knew better. He could feel the deadly atmosphere and the Kanto girl's normally warm expression appeared awfully cold.

'_Yep… way too close…_' The professor cleared his throat. "Too well known. I need someone who's not really known in Hoenn. That also eliminates Ruby and Sapphire, who are quite famous there. Unless they disguise themselves, but I don't think they're the best candidates."

"In that case, what about me, professor? I think I can handle it," Crystal said.

"No, there's a task that I need you, Emerald, and Gold to do in the National Park of Johto," replied Professor Oak.

Crystal froze. "Emerald _and_ Gold? Professor, I can barely handle one of them, but… _both_?"

"It won't be that bad," the professor assured. "There'll be lots of people nearby. They won't do anything bad in front of the public (Crystal: "No! That's even worse! They'll embarrass me so much! I-"). Now, what about you two?" he asked, looking at Diamond and Pearl.

"Yes, you two would be perfect for this!" Platinum exclaimed as she looked at her friends.

Diamond and Pearl glanced at each other. "… School?"

Without warning, the two Sinnoh Dex Holders fled. School was just… not what they had in mind for their tour. Besides, they didn't come all the way to Kanto just so they could go to Hoenn. The professor looked at them for a second before he looked at the other Dex Holders. He noticed something odd…

"Where did Silver, Gold, and Emerald go?" he asked, looking around.

Crystal put a hand over her face. She thought she had taught Emerald enough about helping others and volunteering, but apparently not. It was probably Gold's fault… he was a bad, bad influence. But why did Silver run away?

Blue looked at the remaining Dex Holders. "I think that leaves one reasonable option."

Two days later, Littleroot Town, Hoenn…

Sapphire entered her father's lab through the windows. The professor had told her about the trouble in Rustboro and she wanted to know who would go to help.

"Papa, did Professor Oak decide who's going to help Roxanne?" Sapphire asked.

"Yes he did," her father replied.

"Not me, right?" Sapphire asked with hope in her voice. "I really don't want to go back to a classroom."

"Yes, I know. It's not you. Oh, I just remembered. She'll be arriving in Slateport in an hour. Could you go and pick her up?"

"Sure," Sapphire said as she left the lab. '_A girl, huh? So… it could be Blue, Yellow, Crystal, or Platinum…_'

An hour later, Sapphire sat on top of a streetlamp right outside Slateport harbor, waiting for a familiar face. She wished that her father told her who she was looking for, because then she would've been able to call the name. But before long, she saw someone she recognized.

"Platinum!" she called out, spotting the heiress exiting the harbor.

The Sinnoh girl spotted her senior on top of the streetlamp and ran towards her. She gave a polite bow once her senior jumped down.

"Welcome to Hoenn, Platinum," Sapphire said. "So you're the one who's going to help Roxanne?"

"Yes, senior. I shall do my best."

Sapphire smiled. She jumped onto her Tropius and signaled her junior to do the same.

"Tororo, let's go back home," she said once Platinum was well seated on her Pokémon. "So, where are you going to stay?"

"Professor Birch informed me that I may stay at his house… which is also your house. If I am a bother, then I shall find a hotel near Rustboro."

"No, it's okay. You're welcome to stay," Sapphire assured. "Oh, it'll be hard for you to go back and forth between Littleroot and Rustboro. Tororo and I will be happy to fly you there and back. Isn't that right, Tororo?"

The Tropius nodded as it flew out of Slateport's boundaries.

"Thank you senior."

Several minutes later, the Tropius landed in front of Prof. Birch's house. Ruby, who had just returned from running an errand, saw the Fruit Pokémon and walked towards it.

"Hey, Sapphire, what are you doing?" he asked as he saw the trainer jump off her Pokémon. "And Platinum too, huh?"

"Hello, senior Ruby," Platinum said after a polite bow.

"Ah, so you're the one who's going to help that Trainer's School problem?" Ruby asked.

"Hey, how do you know about that?" Sapphire asked.

"Dad told me," Ruby replied. "And Master too. Apparently there's been a Gym Leader's meeting about it. Your coach should know about it, though she probably didn't tell you because you're not… _good_ _enough_ for this job."

Sapphire clenched her fists. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You see," Ruby said in a taunting tone. "They need someone _smart_ and _calm_ for this task, and you, obviously, are not smart or calm. As a matter of fact," he continued with a smug look. "Some of the Gym Leaders suggested that _I_ help out Roxanne. Too bad I had other stuff to do."

"You probably didn't take that position because you were _scared_ of the battles you'd have to do," Sapphire countered, crossing her arms. "Besides, the only reason Coach didn't tell me was because Roxanne and papa knew that I wouldn't like that idea."

"Please," Ruby said with a smirk. "They need someone who can _read_, Sapphire."

Platinum took a few steps backwards as her senior exploded into a fiery outrage.

"That's it!" Sapphire roared. "When I'm done with you, I'll make sure that you can't read either!"

Platinum watched the event for a while before she entered the Birch residence. After greeting the professor, the heiress received the school uniform that she had to wear and entered the bathroom so that she may change. By the time she finished changing, Ruby and Sapphire were already inside, both exhausted but otherwise unscathed.

The heiress was now wearing a white T-shirt, a black skirt, and long black socks that reached above the knees.

"That's what you're going to wear?" Sapphire asked.

"Yes. This is what Miss Roxanne sent me," Platinum replied.

Ruby looked at his junior from head to toe and approached her. "First, I think you should remove those rings. They could get stolen."

Platinum looked at her diamond and pearl rings before she took them off.

"Next…" Ruby took off the heiress's hat and her hair accessories. Then, with an elastic band, he tied the girl's hair back. "There. Now you look like a normal schoolgirl instead of a really rich heiress."

Platinum bowed graciously. "Thank you, senior."

"Oh, make sure you leave your Pokédex here. That thing's known everywhere. And don't talk so formally. That'll blow your cover," Ruby added.

"I shall… _I'll_ keep that in mind," Platinum said.

"Don't worry about it," Sapphire said with a smile. "You'll do fine."

For the next few days, Sapphire flew Platinum to Rustboro and back and listened to how her junior was doing. She was acing every test and the other students were often asking her for help. During battle practices, she ended up beating everyone with ease. Before long, that troublesome group had offered Platinum to join. She didn't accept the invitation yet, as she didn't want to appear too eager to join.

Then it happened…

One day, when Sapphire flew to Rustboro to pick up Platinum, she noticed something… odd. She could see the heiress walking towards her in the distance, but she seemed to be limping. Surprised, Sapphire ran towards her.

"Platinum, what happened? Are you okay?"

The younger girl had a hand placed on her stomach and had several bruises on her cheek and throat.

"Some… students attacked me…" Platinum gasped out.

"Come, let's get you back to Littleroot!"

A couple of hours later, Platinum revealed to everyone that she had been attacked because of her money. Apparently those students saw through the cover and noticed that the heiress came from a really rich family. Although the ones who mugged her were students, they had threatened to _really_ beat her up if she told any teacher. The decision was that the heiress would need someone to protect her. Under the idea that the bullies would attack again if they saw another girl with Platinum (they'll belittle her), Ruby and Professor Birch agreed that the heiress's protector should be a girl (not to mention the massive insult it would give the bullies if they were beaten up by one girl). As a result, the person chosen for that duty was…

"I can't believe I have to do this…" Sapphire grumbled as she took the spare school uniform from Platinum. "Seriously… a skirt? Do you really expect me to wear _this_?"

Ruby started to laugh as he pushed Sapphire into the bathroom. "Just change, Sapphire."

Grumbling, Sapphire shut the door. Outside, everyone else could hear a continuous chain of grumbles while she changed. A minute later, she came back out, fully dressed in the school uniform.

"Alright… what the hell," Sapphire said as she stepped out of the bathroom. "Do the socks really have to be this long?"

"Wow… you look… good in that," Ruby said. But suddenly, he burst into laughter.

Sapphire had a look on her face as if she wanted to break him in half. Trying to hide the embarrassed blush, she looked away.

"Whatever…"

"Oh wait, Sapphire?" Ruby suddenly said.

"What?"

He took off her bandana, and after thinking for a short while, he took out his glasses and put them on her.

"There. Now you look completely different," he said with a smile.

"I can't see anything," Sapphire said, reaching to take the glasses off.

"Yes, I know that. I'll get you fake glasses for cover."

Sapphire grumbled some more. "Great, now I'll look like a nerd…"

"I guess you should dye your hair black too. That'll make you look like a different person entirely so no one will recognize you."

Professor Birch, who had been smiling all this time, rose to his feet. He was going to call Roxanne and let her know exactly what was happening.

Next day, during lunch time…

"So, Winona, what brings you to the Trainer's School?" Roxanne asked as she walked towards the cafeteria.

"No particular reason," the Fortree Gym Leader replied as she followed. "I suppose I am curious on the progress of that… _problem_."

"We got someone to help us," the Rustboro Gym Leader said. "And someone to help her too. They both have a Pokédex, and…" Roxanne trailed off. "It's probably easier to say that one of them is Sa-"

"I said, give me all your money!" came a voice from around the corner.

"Sounds like trouble," Winona said as she started to run towards the source of the sound.

Roxanne grabbed her arm. "Wait…" she quickly ran towards the corner and peeked around. "Ah, just as I thought."

Winona also peeked around the corner. "Roxanne, why aren't you doing anything?"

Roxanne hushed her colleague and continued to watch. "There's no need to intervene. We have it under control."

Platinum watched in horror as the 3 bullies (who were all taller than her) slowly walked towards her. Sapphire had gone to the bathroom, so there wasn't anyone who would try to help her. She tried to run, but one of the bullies grabbed her by her hair.

"Don't you remember what happened yesterday?" he asked. "Or did we hit you so hard that you forgot?"

"Well then, looks like we should teach you that lesson again," said one of the other bullies.

Suddenly, someone came and pushed the bully away, freeing the heiress. Platinum looked and could see that her senior had returned.

"Is that Sapphire?" Winona whispered to Roxanne. "Why's she wearing glasses? … What did she do to her hair? … … Why is she here at all?"

"That girl being attacked is one of the younger Pokédex Holders. She's the one who's going to help us with… _that problem_. Sapphire is here to protect that girl because she apparently got mugged yesterday," Roxanne replied. "The glasses and hair dye are for cover so people don't recognize her."

"Ooh, look, another little girl," the bullies said with a smirk.

One of them approached Sapphire and started to laugh. "What are you going to do?" he asked, poking her in the breast. "Are you going to tell on us?"

Sapphire put her hands on her hips and started to smirk while slowly shaking her head. Without warning, she kicked him right in the groin and as he dropped to his knees, punched him in the jaw, sending him flying a few meters backwards.

The other bullies quickly rushed towards their fallen comrade. "Why you! You broke his jaw!" one of them yelled.

"Good thing I didn't punch any harder. I could've dislocated and smashed it entirely," Sapphire replied. She cracked her knuckles and gave the others the middle finger. "Come at me, all of you. This'll be a good after-lunch exercise."

"Um… senior?" Platinum whispered from behind. "I do not think that that is a good idea…"

One of the bullies threw a punch, which Sapphire blocked with one hand. Since she had sparred with her Blaziken countless of times, these kinds of 'fights' were nothing. For the next few minutes, Platinum watched in awe as her senior pummeled the two remaining bullies with ease.

"See? I told you that we had it under control," Roxanne said to Winona. "But… since this is a fight, I have to at least pretend to punish Sapphire."

The two Gym Leaders approached the two Dex Holders (and the pile of unconscious bullies). Roxanne had a stern look on her face while Winona was smiling.

"Coach?" Sapphire said, recognizing the Fortree Gym Leader.

"Sapphire, you're in serious trouble for causing a fight," Roxanne said. She gave the Dex Holder a wink to signal that she wasn't actually going to punish her. "Come with me."

As Sapphire followed Roxanne with a fake guilty look, Winona gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Nicely done. Those three really deserved it."

"Thanks, Coach."

Next day, during lunch time, the bullies returned, bringing 7 of their friends with them. While Platinum looked afraid of what would happen, Sapphire started to laugh.

"Oh, look at you guys. Ganging up on a couple of girls who are like half your size… You must feel _so_ tough!" she taunted.

Despite being 10 of them (3 injured, 7 fresh), Sapphire beat them all up, occasionally using the bodies as a battering ram. And before long, only one of the bullies was left standing.

"Why you! I'll show you what happens when you mess with us!" he yelled, despite trembling in fear. "I'll show you good!"

Sapphire looked at the blood on her gloves (not her blood) before she turned her attention to the remaining bully.

"Oh, I'm supposed to be afraid of you? _Nine_ of your friends lost in a fight to _one_ girl, at once. Face it, you're all a bunch of spineless, soft wimps."

"I'll show you! You can't do this to me and get away with it! I'll show you! … Sometime later this week!" the bully yelled frantically. Then without warning, he charged at Sapphire.

"Ha! You're going to fight me?" Sapphire let out a thunderous yell.

Platinum put her hands over her ears in an attempt to lower the decibels going into her ears. The bully, upon hearing Sapphire, quickly turned and fled.

Sapphire laughed at the bully's cowardice. But remembering what he had said, she turned to look at Platinum.

"The idiot probably meant that he'll be using Pokémon to attack us. Since we don't have any, that could be a problem. Platinum, call Ruby and tell him to wait for us near Petalburg Forest's northern exit. Tell him to bring our Pokémon. We don't know when the moron is going to try to attack us, so we should remain ready."

Platinum nodded and pulled out her Pokégear to call Ruby. Suddenly, she noticed that one of the bullies was still conscious and was crawling towards Sapphire's feet.

"Um… senior, look down."

Sapphire looked down and could see the last conscious bully. She reached down, grabbed him by his throat, and lifted him high above the ground. Then she threw him and he hit the grass (so he doesn't die from the fall) some 20 meters away.

"Hmm… I threw Ruby farther than that," she muttered, crossing her arms. "Well, that guy was heavier than him, so…"

For the next few days, Sapphire simply stood by while Platinum did what she came to do. She accepted the invitation to join the troublesome group, attended the meeting and memorized every member's names. After obtaining enough evidence, she gave the names and the evidence to Roxanne, who, after informing the proper authorities (including the police), kicked them all out of the Trainer's School. The group attempted to fight back, but Platinum and Sapphire battled them with Roxanne and dispersed the group entirely. The police chased the members of the group (except Platinum, obviously) and eventually captured them all.

Platinum, having completed her task, finished her last classes and with Sapphire, headed back to Littleroot.

"Good work, Platinum," Sapphire said as she walked with her junior. "Now we don't have to go to those annoying classes anymore."

"This has been an interesting experience," Platinum said. "I found those classes to be fun."

Sapphire looked at her junior with a questioning look before she shook her head. "I'll never understand you…"

"Senior, I meant to ask… When did you learn to fight like that?"

"… I don't know, actually. I just… spar with Chaka every now and then, and I guess I learned by doing that."

"Um… could you… teach me?" Platinum asked. "I wish to learn how to protect myself."

Sapphire rubbed the back of her neck. "Well… I actually don't know how to teach that… Maybe you should ask Green. He received self defense training since he was young, so…"

"THERE YOU ARE!" came a loud, rather panicky voice.

The two female Dex Holders glanced around and could see someone standing quite far away from them. Sapphire squinted and noticed that it was the same guy who had 'threatened' her of a 'retaliation' a few days ago.

"He's here. The one who said he was going to make me pay for beating him and his friends," Sapphire warned her junior. "Get ready."

"But… he is alone," Platinum said as she grabbed her Empoleon's Pokéball.

"Well… you never know. There could be a group of those idiots hiding somewhere," Sapphire replied as she held her Aggron's Pokéball.

The bully ran closer while the two girls performed a visual scan of the area. Oddly, they detected absolutely no hints of other people's presence.

"You!" the bully called, pointing at Sapphire. "Come on! You and me!"

Sapphire started to laugh. "So… not only is he alone, but… he wants to fight, not battle?" she muttered.

Platinum still held onto her Empoleon's Pokéball, just in case. "Senior, even though he is alone, be careful. Those who belittle their opponent is destined to lose."

Sapphire nodded. She took off her fake glasses and handed them to Platinum. She looked at the bully as she approached him. She kept her mindset the same as the times she sparred with her Blaziken.

"What exactly made you want to fight me one on one?" Sapphire asked the bully.

"I got some special training! I can beat you!" the bully yelled. Without warning, he threw a punch. Sapphire simply tilted her head and dodged the punch.

"I… see. Well, I don't know what training you got in the past five days, but… I doubt that's enough."

The bully stepped back and attempted a kick, which Sapphire dodged. Using the kick's momentum, the bully attempted a wheel kick, which the Hoenn girl also dodged. Using the added momentum again, the bully attempted a tornado kick. This time, Sapphire simply punched the incoming foot, making the bully falter and trip. The persistent idiot jumped back up and attempted another punch, but Sapphire simply grabbed the fist.

"Five days of training isn't enough to beat me. I've sparred with a Blaziken for five _years_ now!"

"Why you!" the bully yelled out. He attempted a series of punches and kicks with his teeth clenched. Surely _one_ of them would hit…

"You missed!" Sapphire taunted as she dodged an attack. "Missed again! … You suck! … Try again! … You call that a punch? That sucked!"

The bully frantically looked around for some kind of leverage. Upon seeing Platinum, a thought occurred. He dived at the heiress and within a second, he had an arm around her throat. As expected, Sapphire hesitated in attacking. But Platinum simply stomped on his foot with her left heel and kicked his knee with her right.

"Ow! Son of a-"

Sapphire lunged forward and smashed a fist into the bully's face, forcefully pushing him off of her junior. In that instant, Platinum spun around and with the spin's momentum, slammed the palm of her hand into the bully's chin, knocking him out cold.

"Whoa! Nicely done, Platinum!" Sapphire said.

"I… I did not know that I could do that…" the heiress muttered with a shocked expression.

Sapphire smiled as she patted her junior on the back. "Well, good job. The idiot deserved that." She stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a loud whistle. "Let's go home now."

Once the Tropius arrived, the two female Dex Holders hopped on. The Fruit Pokémon headed towards Littleroot once they were ready.

"That was also an interesting experience," Platinum said. "I wish to experience it more."

"That's… not a good thing, considering you and your status. But learning how to fight is important, I guess. You need to learn how to defend yourself more than anyone else. Just… don't _like_ fighting…"

* * *

><p><strong>Next up (DHC):<strong>

**Yes or No? Answer first, **_**then**_** see the question. The Dex Holders should **_**probably**_** choose very, **_**very**_** carefully…**

* * *

><p>What Could Have Been (didn't know where to put this part):<p>

"Why won't you fight like a girl?" cried the bully.

Sapphire put a hand on her chin and thought for a second. "Well… I don't know _how_. I know a few people who might, but I've never seen them fight." She shrugged. "Oh well. I'll try though."

The bully swung an arm and Sapphire dodged. She then simply slapped him across the face. The bully attempted another attack, missed, and got slapped again. Each slap hurt as much as a punch though… Sapphire grabbed his fist with one hand and slapped him (really hard) with her other.

"Hey, this is fun!"

The bully groaned. "… Stop fighting like a girl… it's only humiliating for me…"


	7. DHC 003 Fateful Choices Part 1

**SA #015 was supposed to be uploaded first, but that thing's stuck (again). Not much progress has been made, therefore SR #007 is uploaded instead.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Dex Holders' Challenge Ep. 003: Fateful Choices<p>

Pallet Town, 8 pm…

"Okay, people, I called you all here so we can talk about the _Dex Holders' Challenge_," Blue started as she looked at the other Dex Holders gathered in her house.

"Yes. Maybe you can explain why the meeting time and location _always_ vary," Green said.

"I don't know why they do that, don't ask me. But I did want to talk to you about our in-program characters," Blue said. "It's probably best for a variety show that the members, except the MC though, have in-program characters that are different than who they really are. Like the last episode, when I… um… _tricked_ some of my juniors." She looked over at Ruby. "How's the debt, by the way?"

"Don't ask…" the Hoenn Dex Holder grumbled.

"Anyways, I feel I was rather out of character last episode," Blue said. "You know, tricking people and scamming… that's not me." Red and Green stared at her. Blue cleared her throat. "Well, it's not me nowadays." Her two friends kept staring. She looked at them and sighed. "Hey, I'm the MC. I need to have a good image. So as the MC, I need to act on screen as I do in real life. You know, innocent, kind-hearted, honest, et cetera."

Green shook his head. "Whatever you say, Blue…"

"So you basically want _all of us_, including you, to act differently than in real life," Red said.

"Yes. Except me, though, like I said."

"Well, I was thinking that I…" Sapphire started.

"Ah, don't say it," Blue interrupted. "Just put it in practice tomorrow during the recording. We'll see how it goes. The meeting place is the lobby of the Celadon TV Broadcast Station. Be there before 10:30 am. Meeting adjourned!"

Celadon City, 9:30 am…

Crystal arrived at the designated meeting location first and returned her Xatu to its Pokéball. The moment she did so, several cameramen for the _Dex Holders' Challenge_ ran up to her and started filming.

"Whoa, already?" she asked, noticing that she was the only Dex Holder present. "But no one else is here yet."

"Yes or no?" the main PD asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Yes or no?" the PD asked again. She had a rather large sketchbook on her hand, but Crystal couldn't see what was on it.

"I need to know what the question is," Crystal said to her.

"Just answer. Yes or no?"

"Yes," Crystal answered.

The PD showed her what was on the sketchbook.

"_Would you like to get hit?"_

Suddenly, someone appeared from the crowd of DHC staff and started to repeatedly hit Crystal on the head with one of those hollow plastic hammers that little children play with.

"Ow! Ow! Hey, come on!" Crystal yelled while trying to protect herself. "That's just not fair!"

"Again, yes or no?" the PD asked again.

Crystal glared at her for a second before answering. "Yes!"

The PD showed her the question on the sketchbook.

"_Should we continue?"_

"Are you kidding?" Crystal yelled out as the hammer man reappeared and repeatedly hit her again.

A few minutes later…

Blue entered the broadcast station and the DHC cameramen ran up to her too. The Kanto girl looked around, wondering why they were filming when not all of the Dex Holders have arrived. Crystal walked up to her senior.

"Hi, Blue. Yes or no?" she asked abruptly. As expected, her senior appeared confused.

"… Alright, what is this?" she asked instead.

"Just answer. Yes or no?"

"What did you answer?"

"I can't tell you. That'll introduce bias," Crystal answered. "Just pick yes or no."

"Um… Yes, but you picked yes too, right?" Blue asked.

"She says yes!" Crystal yelled as she looked at the main PD.

"Hey, wait!"

The main PD showed Blue her sketchbook and the question.

"_Would you like to get hit?"_

"Alright!" Crystal yelled happily. She learned from the previous DHC recordings that there was no such thing as loyalty in the world of variety shows. It was always the best when _someone else_ suffers instead of her. As expected, the hammer man appeared with the hammer, but he only hit Blue on the head once. "Hey, how come you only hit her once?"

The hammer man ignored her and returned to the crowd of DHC staff. Crystal asked again, but receiving no answer, gave up. She looked at Blue and continued.

"Again, yes or no?"

Blue groaned as she tried to fix her hair and hat. "Yes."

"_Should we continue?"_

The hammer man reappeared and hit her again, thus crushing her hat even more.

"Again, yes or no?" Crystal asked.

"No!" Blue yelled. The two Dex Holders looked at the PD's sketchbook.

"_Should we stop?"_

"Oh, what kind of question is that?" Blue yelled out as the hammer man reappeared.

Crystal laughed as her senior got hit for the third time. "Last time! Yes or no?"

"Yes!" Blue answered.

"_Should we not continue?"_

"Alright!" Blue exclaimed. But the hammer man appeared and hit her anyways. "Huh? I answered yes, so you shouldn't hit me!"

Crystal laughed. "The hammer man made a mistake!"

Blue glared at the hammer man. "You just made a _powerful_ enemy…"

Next victim…

Green entered the station and as if on cue, Blue, Crystal, and the pack of DHC staff ran up to him.

"Green's first choice!" Blue yelled out. "Yes or no?"

The Gym Leader stared at her for a second before answering. "No."

"_Would you like to not get hit?"_

The hammer man appeared and hit Green with the hammer. The Gym Leader glared at him and he instantly scurried away.

"Green's second choice!" Blue said as she stepped between the Gym Leader and the hammer man. "Yes or no?"

"… No."

"_Should we stop?"_

The hammer man came close and hit Green again. The Gym Leader slowly turned to face him.

"Okay… I think we should stop this for Green because he might kill the hammer man…" Blue said as she tried to calm down the Gym Leader.

"You're that PD's friend, aren't you?" he asked the hammer man. "You're _dead._"

Half an hour later, Red, Yellow, Silver, Emerald, Diamond, and Pearl have all suffered similar fates and eagerly waited for the remaining Dex Holders to arrive. The next victims were Ruby and Sapphire, who entered together.

"Ruby's first choice!" Blue yelled abruptly the moment the two Hoenn Dex Holders came close. "Yes or no?"

Ruby and Sapphire looked at each other, wondering what was going on. Ruby glanced at the other Dex Holders and looked at the camera. "No."

"_Would you like to not get hit?"_

The hammer man appeared and hit Ruby in the back of the head before the Hoenn Dex Holder knew what just happened. Sapphire laughed while Ruby glared at the retreating hammer man.

"Ruby's second choice! Yes or no?"

"No!"

"_Should we stop?"_

The hammer man reappeared and hit him again. Ruby groaned as he fixed his hat.

"Ruby's third choice! Yes or no?"

"No!"

"_Should we not continue?"_

"Oh come on!" Ruby yelled as the hammer man reappeared. He tried to defend himself, but Sapphire held down his arms and thus could do nothing but glare and think angry thoughts as the hammer man hit him.

"Ruby's final choice! Yes or no?"

"Ruby, just say yes!" Sapphire said from beside.

"No!"

"_Should we stop?"_

The hammer man reappeared and hit Ruby for the fourth time. Sapphire laughed as Ruby readjusted his hat.

"I told you to say yes!"

"Alright then," Blue said from the side. "Sapphire's first choice! Yes or no?"

"No!" Sapphire yelled with a grin. She looked over at the main PD expectantly.

The PD hesitated a little before showing Sapphire her sketchbook.

"_Would you like to get hit?"_

"Ha! In your face, Ruby!" Sapphire yelled before sticking her tongue out at him. "Oh, I have a good feeling about today!"

Next victim…

Platinum entered the station next. The moment she entered, Crystal and Blue dragged her towards the 'hammer area' in front of the main cameras.

"Um… seniors? What is happening?" the heiress asked, confused at her seniors' actions.

"Platinum's first choice! Yes or no?" Blue asked.

"Yes!" Platinum exclaimed.

"_Should we hit you?"_

The hammer man appeared and hit the heiress on the head with the toy hammer.

"Wh – What? What… Why…" Platinum stammered as she put her hands on her head.

"Platinum's second choice! Yes or no?"

"I consider myself to be rather lucky because I always try to maintain a positive outlook," Platinum said. "So I say yes!"

"_Should we continue?"_

The hammer man appeared and gave Platinum a positive hit to the head.

"No! No! Sometimes, no! No!"

"_Should we stop?"_

Platinum stared at the PD's sketchbook in disbelief as the hammer man reappeared.

"Platinum's final choice!" Blue yelled out. "Yes or no?"

"… Yes!"

"_Should we hit you?"_

Platinum could only brace herself as the hammer man hit her for the fourth time. "Ow… what is this? What is going on?"

Final victim, 11 am…

Gold entered the broadcast station rather slowly, despite the fact that he was half an hour late. Silver and Crystal ran up to him, grabbed on to either ear and dragged him towards the cameras. Seeing the upset expressions of the other Dex Holders, Gold remained rather quiet.

"Seeing how he's eyeing us, he knows he's late," Sapphire commented.

"Doesn't matter. Gold's first choice!" Blue yelled. "Yes or no?"

"… Yes," Gold said rather quietly.

"_Would you like to get hit?"_

The other Dex Holders cheered as the hammer man appeared and hit Gold on the back of the head.

"Harder, harder, harder!" Ruby and Sapphire chanted.

"Gold's second choice! Yes or no?"

"No!" the goggled boy yelled.

"_Should we stop?"_

The other Dex Holders cheered once again as the hammer man appeared with the toy hammer…

Several minutes later…

The Dex Holders bowed in front of the camera and said the show's name and did the designated pose. Afterwards, Blue spoke.

"Well, earlier today, we experienced something… absurd. All of us, except for the very few lucky ones, got hit around 3 to 4 times on the head."

"I got hit over 10 times," Crystal added.

"So this is what today is all about. It's all about choices! We all make them, some good, some horrible. So today, we'll answer yes or no before we see the question, and find out who is the luckiest Dex Holder, and similarly, who is the unluckiest."

Platinum glanced to the left and right, where she could see two signs, one with a "Yes" and one with a "No".

"So do we stand next to whatever sign we choose?" she asked.

"Yep. But the question is… how do we start?"

Suddenly, the Dex Holders heard a chime. They all looked around, and could see the main PD holding up her sketchbook.

"Every time you hear the chime, you choose."

"I'm going to say no!" Sapphire exclaimed. She walked over to the right and stood beside the "No" sign.

"I might as well trust you this time," Ruby muttered as he stood beside her.

"I say yes!" Platinum exclaimed. She moved to the left and stood beside the "Yes" sign. Diamond and Pearl glanced at each other and walked towards the heiress.

"Red, Green, Yellow? What do you pick?" Blue asked.

"I say yes," Yellow said. Red nodded as well and the two went over to the left. Green looked at the groups beside the signs and headed to the left as well.

Gold and Crystal headed to the right and stood beside the "No" sign. Silver immediately went to the left. Emerald did the same, upon realizing that both Ruby and Sapphire chose no. Blue looked back and forth between the signs before she headed right.

"Alright! We've decided!" she yelled.

Yes: Red, Green, Yellow, Silver, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum.  
>No: Blue, Gold, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire.<p>

The main PD showed the Dex Holders the question she had written on her sketchbook.

"_Would you like to remain ugly?"_

"Hey!" Ruby yelled out. "What do you mean ugly?"

"I'll have you know that just about everyone think I'm very pretty!" Blue yelled rather angrily.

The PD ignored them and made hand signals to some of the staff. The staff set up a table filled with various makeup accessories near the Dex Holders.

"So… are they going to become more beautiful?" Platinum asked. '_Perhaps I should have chosen no._'

Crystal was the first to become 'more beautiful'. Ruby examined the tools and noticed something odd.

"Hey, the question was "Would you like to remain ugly?" and we said no," he said to the staff. "But these tools are going to make you ugly, not beautiful!"

"No, no. This will make you beautiful," the staff replied.

Within a minute, the staff finished with Crystal and the Johto Dex Holder looked into the mirror. She could barely recognize her face… She was covered in thick, _thick_ layers of makeup and it made her look more or less like a clown after a pie got thrown into the face.

Crystal could only sigh to vent out her anger. Ruby looked sick, and Sapphire and Gold were busy laughing. Blue simply stared in despair, afraid of how she would look after becoming 'more beautiful'.

"You look terrible, Crys!" Gold taunted from the side.

Crystal forced herself to smile. "I'm not the only one who said no! You're going to have to go through this too!"

Few minutes later…

The girls had thick layers of makeup on, which made their skin ghastly pale with ridiculously red lips and their eyelids shaded completely black. The boys, on the other hand, had their eyelashes extended, which made them look absolutely horrible.

Sapphire didn't seem to care much about the thick layer of makeup. Ruby appeared as if he was going to cry any minute from having his fashion/appearance brutally stomped on, Gold simply stared at the floor, and Blue and Crystal avoided looking at each other at all costs. The Dex Holders who chose yes could only laugh at them.

"Do we have to stay like this for the whole day?" Crystal asked.

The main PD nodded with a smile. Blue and Crystal were about to say something when they heard a chime. Realizing that it was time for the second choice, the Dex Holders began to decide. The Dex Holders who said no the first time wanted to get the whole day over with as soon as possible.

"We've decided!" Blue yelled once everyone made up their minds.

Yes: Blue, Gold, Silver, Ruby, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl.  
>No: Red, Green, Yellow, Crystal, Sapphire, Platinum.<p>

The main PD showed the Dex Holders the question.

"_Would you like to become more beautiful?"_

"What kind of a question is that?" Blue yelled.

"Yes!" Crystal exclaimed happily. "Saved!"

Platinum looked over at her two friends with a worried look, but soon smiled. It was a variety show, after all. There were no loyalties. She looked over at Sapphire and confirmed that there were no loyalties indeed. The Hoenn girl was busy laughing at Ruby, who looked distraught.

The second makeover was a simulated nose-surgery. Clear plastic cones were placed over the unfortunate Dex Holders' noses and then painted to match their skin color. Now they all looked as if they had botched nose surgery.

"Wow, senior," Platinum said as she looked at Blue. "… You look awful!"

"Ah well… you're going to make wrong choices later today. I _guarantee_ it!" Blue growled through clenched teeth. '_Today is going to be one bad day…_'

The Dex Holders soon headed out of the Celadon TV Broadcast Station and gathered near the parking lot. The lucky Dex Holders who hadn't made a wrong choice so far stood on one side, the Dex Holders who made all the wrong choices stood on the other and everyone else stood in between, making clear distinction as to who was lucky and who was not. Soon, they could hear the chime.

"Alright! Let's choose!" Blue yelled.

"Wait, we should think about this carefully," Crystal said from beside.

"No! We all know how this thing goes. There's no need for words," Blue argued.

The Dex Holders scattered between the two signs, some following their instincts, some attempting to outsmart the PD and her 'evil' staff, and some simply avoiding the unlucky Dex Holders.

"Alright, we've decided!"

Yes: Green, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Ruby, Sapphire, Pearl.  
>No: Red, Blue, Crystal, Emerald, Diamond, Platinum.<p>

"_Would you like to ride in a limousine?"_

"Yes!" Ruby and Sapphire yelled in unison. They gave each other a high five.

Blue walked up to the main PD, having made the wrong choice for the third time in a row. "Come on… this is just…"

"Senior!" Platinum yelled out. "You have ruined my chance of _finally_ riding a limousine!"

"… Sorry." Blue sighed and looked at the main PD. "Alright then, what are we riding, and where are we going?"

Just then, three vehicles came to a stop near the Dex Holders. One of them was a limo. The other two looked like regular (old) vehicles.

"Well, that's not that bad," Diamond said.

"Something looks off," Emerald said as he narrowed his eyes.

Blue approached the two and gasped in shock. She took off her hat and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. Crystal came and upon seeing the problem of the cars, stared at the main PD.

"How could you get us a car that _has no windshield_?" she demanded.

Gold started to laugh. "Ha, you guys have to ride in a car that has no windshields _or_ windows!" He walked towards the limo and the limo driver opened the door for him. "See you later, suckers!"

Within a few minutes, all 13 Dex Holders were headed to Saffron City. The lucky Dex Holders sat in the warmth and comfort of the limo while the others…

"Ah, it's so cold!" Emerald yelled from the back seat of the first windowless car.

Because there were no windshields, strong wind (faster than the speed of the car) could move through the car, making things _very_ cold. And the only 'protection' the Dex Holders received was a helmet with built-in goggles in case a pebble came flying through the non-existent windshield.

"My hands are freezing!" Blue (the driver) screamed. "At least your _hands_ don't have nerves!"

"My real hands are freezing too!" Emerald argued. "And unlike you, I _can't warm them_!"

Crystal, who sat on the passenger seat, looked to the right where she could see the limo with the lucky Dex Holders. The rear window of the limo rolled down and Gold poked his head out.

"Hey, Crys! What's it like over there?" he asked.

"It's so cold!" Crystal screamed. "How are things on your end, you jerk?"

"It's too warm here!" the goggled boy taunted. "And we have too much food! We have fruits, cookies, other snacks, and plenty to drink! And they're great!"

Crystal groaned. She was getting hungry too…

Behind them, the second windowless car followed, with Red driving. Diamond and Platinum didn't like the idea of the Kanto champion driving given his driving records (temporarily piloted and crashed the Team Rocket jet), but had no choice.

Diamond sat in the back, using the passenger seat as a windshield. Platinum was in the passenger seat, desperately trying to shield herself from the harsh winds. Red, however, seemed only mildly bothered.

"Senior, it is way too cold," Platinum said from the side.

Red glanced at her and proceeded to take off his vest, thereby taking his eyes off the road and his hands off of the steering wheel.

"Keep your hands on the steering wheel!" Diamond yelled from behind. "Or we're going to crash!"

"Senior! Car!" Platinum screamed.

Red looked up and eased off the accelerator just enough so that he wouldn't hit the car in front (Blue's windowless car).

"Good call," he said nonchalantly.

"Red! Watch where you're driving!" came Blue's voice from ahead.

"Senior…" Platinum muttered. "You are a terrible driver."

Half an hour later, the Dex Holders _finally_ arrived at the next filming location in Saffron City. It was behind the Silph's Co., the quietest place in all of the busy city of Saffron. The limo stopped and the lucky Dex Holders got off. Some stretched and yawned, as they had taken a short nap on the way. The two windowless cars soon pulled up next to the limo and the frozen, unlucky Dex Holders got out.

Blue shivered as she stood in the center of the gathered Dex Holders. Crystal groaned as she tried to straighten out her hair. Gold yawned from the opposite side of the Dex Holder group.

"Oh, that ride was so comfortable. And the food was great!"

"Gold…" Crystal started. "… Stop talking…"

"Great… so what now?" Blue asked.

"What if we make our own questions?" Yellow suggested. "Like… um… Red can write a question on that PD's sketchbook and everyone else has to pick yes or no."

"Great idea!" Blue exclaimed. "Pearl, why don't you go first?"

"Alright," the hasty Dex Holder said as he snatched a pen and sketchbook from the main PD. Within three seconds, he finished thinking and wrote the question. "Ready! Dia, you pick first."

"I say no," Diamond said as he stood beside the "No" sign.

"Miss Lady?"

"I shall also choose no."

Soon, every Dex Holder made their decision.

Yes: Green, Blue, Gold, Silver, Ruby, Emerald.  
>No: Red, Yellow, Crystal, Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum.<p>

Pearl grinned and revealed his question.

"_Would you like to give me 10 000 PKD?"_

"What the? Oh come on!" Ruby yelled. "I have enough financial problems as is!"

Blue growled through clenched teeth and approached Pearl. "Why you little!" she yelled as she tried to strangle him. The hasty Dex Holder started to run and the Kanto girl chased him with all her might. But just before she caught him, she stopped, as strangling her junior would be terrible for her image on screen. Off screen, however…

Soon, Green, Blue, Gold, Silver, and Emerald paid (in Ruby's case, made a note saying that he owed Pearl 10 000 PKD) and waited for the next Dex Holder to make a question.

"Sapphire, you're next," Blue said. She approached her and spoke quietly. "Make a question where yes is the good choice. Have sympathy for me. I made _four_ wrong choices in a row!"

Sapphire nodded. "Okay."

Blue put on an innocent expression and waited for Sapphire to write her question.

"Okay, I'm ready," Sapphire said a few seconds later.

The Dex Holders made their decisions and looked at Sapphire expectantly. Blue stood beside the "Yes" sign as she had told Sapphire.

Yes: Red, Blue, Silver, Pearl, Platinum.  
>No: Green, Yellow, Gold, Crystal, Ruby, Emerald, Diamond.<p>

The Hoenn girl grinned as she revealed her question.

"_Would you like me to hit you on the forehead?"_

Blue's mouth opened in shock. Sapphire let out a long, evil laugh.

"Wow, Blue," Red started. "It seems that your luck has depleted for today."

"Sapphire!" Blue yelled out. "I told you to make a question where yes was the _good_ choice!"

"What can I say?" the Hoenn girl said with a shrug. "I just wanted to punish those who tried to take the easy way."

Red crouched in front of Sapphire so that she could hit him. But seeing how she was dealing with her role model, she took it very lightly. She kept her gloves on and ended up simply tapping her senior on the forehead. She took it easy for Silver and Pearl as well, and kept her gloves on. She hit them a lot harder than she hit Red, but because of her gloves, it wasn't that bad.

Blue soon crouched and took off her hat. She glared at Sapphire and regretted her decision in trusting her.

"Okay, Blue," Sapphire said as she removed her gloves. "I'll give you three choices, 1, 2, or 3. Pick one."

"… I pick 2," the Kanto girl said after a second of thought.

Sapphire put her right hand directly in front of Blue's forehead. "That's 1." She moved her hand further back. "That's 2." She then moved her hand roughly half a meter away. "That's 3. You picked 2, so…"

Sapphire moved her hand back to position 2 and simply rotated her body to smack her senior's forehead. That way, it wouldn't feel as if she was hitting her in a painful way, but still made a loud smack.

"Ungh…" Blue groaned as she fell backwards from the hit's momentum. "This is going to be a _long_ day…" She soon sat up and sighed. She looked at Sapphire who was busy stretching her arms as she glared at Platinum. "You know, maybe it's because of the thick makeup, and maybe it's because of the way you hit me, but… that didn't really hurt."

"Yep. It only sounds painful," Sapphire said with a smile. "But as for you…" she said as she glared at Platinum again. "It's going to be a _little_ different."

"Please senior, take it easy on me," Platinum begged as she dropped to her knees.

"Remember what you did to me last episode?" Sapphire said through clenched teeth. "Get ready!"

The Hoenn girl placed her hand right in front of her junior's forehead and started to move her hand back. Once she moved it as far away as possible, she proceeded to hit Platinum. The heiress clenched her eyes shut to brace herself, but Sapphire had stopped just before her hand made contact with her junior's forehead.

"Ha, you should see the look on your face," she said with a laugh. "Again, get ready!"

"Wait, wait!" Platinum yelled out. She looked over at Blue. "Senior Blue, you have been hit once before. I will give you 10 000 PKD. Could you please take the hit for me?"

Blue thought for a few seconds. "… Go get the money."

"Really? Alright!" Platinum exclaimed happily. She jumped to her feet and rushed over to the DHC staff so she could get her bag.

Sapphire started to laugh. "So you're willing to pay to get out of this?" She patted Platinum on the back once the heiress returned with her bag. "Well, since you made me laugh, I guess I'll forgive you."

As Platinum withdrew a single 10 000 PKD bill, Blue changed her mind. "On second thought, make it 20 (in thousands)."

"But senior, you agreed to 10," Platinum argued. "You cannot back down from the arrangement!"

Gold suddenly raised a hand from behind. "I'll do it for 15."

"Do it for 10, senior," Platinum said. "Thanks to me, you get to appear on screen for a little longer."

"… Alright then, 10 it is," the goggled boy said as he approached Platinum. He crouched in front of Sapphire so that he could take the hit.

"I'll do it for 7!" Blue yelled out.

"7 it is!" Platinum exclaimed. She reached into her bag and withdrew seven 1000 PKD bills.

But just as Blue was about to take the money, Gold spoke again. "5!"

"5? Okay!" Platinum yelled as she turned away from Blue. The heiress held the bills in her hand and proceeded to give them to Gold.

"Wait!" Blue yelled out. "3!"

"We have the lowest price!" Red yelled from behind. "So sold to Blue for 3000 PKD!"

Blue took the bills and crouched in front of Sapphire. She began to count the bills as the Hoenn girl got ready.

"Pesky girl, you should've just taken the 10 000. But you just had to get greedy," Green said from behind with a sigh.

"Hey, it was worth a shot!" Blue yelled back. She held onto the money tight as Sapphire prepared to hit her as hard as she had intended to hit Platinum.

Blue shut her eyes just before the hit came and the impact forced her to fall backwards again. Sapphire and Platinum laughed as they helped their senior back up.

"Hey, look at that! She's still holding onto the money!" Sapphire exclaimed.

"Blue, you're donating that, right?" Crystal asked from behind.

"Of course she is!" said Sapphire as she snatched the bills away from Blue.

"Hey!" Blue yelled. "That's not fair!"

Sapphire handed the 3000 PKD to the main PD. "Here, donate this to the hospital or something under the name of Blue."

Next question…

Blue snatched the sketchbook from the main PD. "It's my turn now!"

"Uh oh, she looks awfully angry," Yellow muttered.

Blue gritted her teeth as she thought of the most awful punishment she could think of (that was within the limits of a variety show). It seemed that the loss of 3000 PKD and her unlucky streak (5 bad choices out of 5 choices made) had awakened her scary attack potential…

* * *

><p><strong>The whole choose-first-then-see event was from an actual variety show. The actual event was two episodes long, each one taking approximately 1.5 hours. As a result, the DHC's choice event is going to be spread out over multiple chapters in order to prevent having a chapter that's 20 000 words long.<strong>

**Next up (DHC):**

**Part 2 of Fateful Choices. Things are finally looking up for Blue. It's her turn to attack and stop her unlucky streak.**

* * *

><p>What Could Have BeenEdited Parts:

"Do you have any idea how unlucky I am?" Pearl yelled. "I caught 15 Pokémon last week, and _every single one of them_ was just a Ditto in disguise. I caught a light-brown Geodude, and it turned out to be a regular Ditto that simply Transformed and got _mud_ all over it!"


	8. DHC 004 Fateful Choices Part 2

**As mentioned on the news section of SR during the one of the recent SA updates, SR's DHC chapters will no longer have the screen effects. They were a worth a try, and the trial period is over.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Dex Holders' Challenge Ep. 004: Fateful Choices Part 2<p>

Blue gritted her teeth as she wrote down her question. Unfortunately, she couldn't make the question too extreme, as she was still in a variety show. Once she wrote the question, she looked up from the sketchbook at the other Dex Holders.

"Ready!"

"For this one, how about we go all in?" Crystal asked the other Dex Holders.

"Alright, why not?" Gold said after a short moment of thought.

Red turned to look at Blue. "Hey Blue, if we all pick one choice, then what do you say that you pick the other choice?"

"… Fine!" Blue yelled. '_Yes… I'll get you all at once!_'

"Alright then, Yellow, what do you pick?" Red asked.

"Yeah, you should pick!" Pearl said from behind. "You haven't made a single bad choice yet."

"Um… I pick no."

Blue grinned as Yellow moved to stand under the no sign.

"She's smiling… is that a bad thing?" Diamond asked.

Green glanced at Blue and walked towards Yellow. "That's a trick. Don't fall for it."

The other Dex Holders glanced at Blue and all joined Green and Yellow. Once everyone gathered under the no sign, they all looked at the Kanto girl expectantly. Blue looked at them all for a short while before she simply tore out her question from the sketchbook. Even as she was shredding and crumpling the page with her question, the other Dex Holders rushed towards her to prevent her from destroying the evidence. Blue attempted to put the crumpled sheet inside her shirt, but Crystal and Sapphire held onto her arms and prevented her from doing such.

"No, no, no! Let go!" Blue ordered as she struggled to free herself.

She even attempted to eat the few bits of the question sheet, but all the pieces were pulled out of her reach and eventually fell into the hands of the other Dex Holders.

"Assemble it and read the question!" Crystal yelled out.

"Oh, this is just ridiculous!" Blue screamed.

Ruby looked at the question and after clearing his throat, started to read out loud.

"_Would you like White, the PD, to hit you on the head with the toy hammer as hard as she can manage?"_

"We all answered no!" Red exclaimed. "So Blue, you automatically pick yes!"

"Oh, come on! Can't you guys let me off the hook for once?" Blue begged. But her heartless friends dragged her towards the main PD.

The PD took the plastic toy hammer from earlier that day and looked at Blue with a smile. "Well… I promise I won't hit _too_ hard."

Blue was forced to get down to her knees in front of the PD. Platinum removed her senior's hat and watched with amusement. Blue simply kept her head down and let out a long sigh.

"This has got to be the worst day of my life… and I had some _horrible_ days!"

The PD aimed the hammer at Blue's head and pulled it back for a full powered strike. The Kanto girl shut her eyes and braced herself. But the hit never came… After ten seconds of waiting, Blue opened an eye to see what was happening. The _moment_ her eye opened, the PD smashed the hammer on her head.

Blue groaned as she fell backwards. She rubbed her head and blinked several times to shake away the dizziness. "How… how could you be _that_ strong?" She groaned again as she sat up. "I think you might be as strong as Sapphire…"

"Really?" Sapphire said from behind. She grabbed another toy plastic hammer and without warning, smashed it over Blue's head.

Blue simply collapsed on the ground again. She squirmed in pain and kept her hands placed firmly on the top of her head. "Ungh… never mind… Sapphire's _way_ stronger…" Blue slowly sat up and let out a long sigh. "This really is the worst day of my life. It's worse than the day when my parents were kidnapped… and even worse than the day _I _was kidnapped! And that day _sucked_ to say the least!"

Red and Yellow approached Blue and helped her up to her feet. Blue looked at her friends and silently begged again. "Yellow… make a question where no is the good choice… Have some mercy…"

Yellow looked at her with sympathy and nodded. She received the sketchbook and wrote her question. Red, having heard Blue's beg, stood under the no sign. He trusted that Yellow would do as her friend begged. Before long, every other Dex Holder made their choice and it was Blue's turn.

'_Okay… I told the other Dex Holders to act differently in the show than in real life. And as a result, Sapphire betrayed me and Platinum has absolutely no qualms about making fun of me… Which means, Yellow would probably plan on betraying me too, for the fun of it. In that case…_'

Yellow looked at her friend/mentor with a confused look. For some reason, Blue was now standing under the yes sign…

Yes: Blue, Gold, Crystal, Ruby, Emerald.

No: Red, Green, Silver, Sapphire, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum.

Yellow hesitated a little before revealing her question.

"_Would you like to receive the ice water torture?_"

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Blue screamed. "Why didn't you try to betray me?" she demanded, glaring at Yellow.

"That's a very weird question," Yellow remarked. "I thought you were going to trust me, but…"

"What's the ice water torture, anyways?" Crystal asked.

The main PD looked back and signaled the staff behind to bring something forward. Soon, several staff members dragged a giant square-based water tank that was approximately 1.5 meters high and two meters wide. Yellow approached the water tank and got her Omastar to fill it with water. Once the tank was almost full with water, the Omastar hit it with Blizzard, thus freezing it. The Blizzard wasn't at full power so the water didn't completely freeze, but instead was near freezing temperature and had chunks of ice floating around.

"It's really simple. All you have to do is put your arm in the tank and hold it for… 90 seconds."

Blue simply stared at Yellow. "… When did you become sadistic?"

"I guess I learned from you."

Once the tank was at the perfect temperature, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Ruby, and Emerald put their arms in the water.

"Ah! It's so cold!" Crystal yelled out.

"Want me to hold your hand, Crys?" Gold offered. "It'll help you keep warm a little."

Crystal rolled her eyes. But a thought occurred… She grabbed Gold's billiard cue and let the indestructible object sink to the bottom of the water tank.

"Hey! I was only trying to help!" Gold yelled. "This is just childish, Super Serious Gal!" He turned to look at Emerald, who appeared to be suffering quite a bit from the cold water. "Hey, Odd Boy, can you get that for me? You know… use your extendable… … wait…"

"Emerald!" Ruby yelled. "You're not even touching the water!"

"What are you talking about?" Emerald yelled back. His actual arm wasn't touching the water yet, so he tried his best to act as if he was freezing.

Sapphire looked at Emerald for a second and could tell that he didn't actually have his real arm in the water yet. She looked over at Platinum and upon meeting her gaze, gave her a nod. The heiress understood and the two girls silently approached Emerald from behind. Without warning, the two girls each grabbed onto Emerald's fake feet and lifted him up, effectively tossing the boy into the water tank.

A few minutes later, all the Dex Holders stood before the cameras to get the show rolling. The main PD wrote her question on her sketchbook and looked at the Dex Holders.

"Yellow, what are you going to pick?" Blue asked. She decided that if she wasn't able to make the correct choice, then she might as well go with the luckiest person so far.

"Um… Yes!"

"Then I pick yes too!" Blue yelled out.

The other Dex Holders looked rather troubled. If the luckiest and the unluckiest picked the same choice… As a result, seven of the remainder picked no, under the belief that Yellow's luck has run out. The remaining four picked yes, under the belief that Blue's crappy luck was about to change.

Yes: Green, Blue, Yellow, Silver, Ruby, Sapphire.

No: Red, Gold, Crystal, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum.

"_Would you like to ride the windowless car?"_

Red looked at Yellow. "Well, it looks like your super luck isn't enough to overcome Blue's horrible dark aura of unluckiness."

Blue glared at him. "Really, Red? Really? _Dark aura_?"

"Everybody makes a bad choice one time or another," Yellow said with a smile. She looked at Blue with a sympathetic expression. "You… just made a lot of them in a row."

Once again, Blue ended up driving one windowless vehicle with Yellow and Silver riding it. Green drove the other windowless car with Ruby and Sapphire riding. Ahead of them, the limousine sped ahead, forcing the two windowless vehicles to speed up to keep up. The increased speed increased the wind speed, thus torturing the occupants even more.

One of the windows of the limo opened and Gold's head appeared. The goggled boy grinned as he looked at Blue's car. The Kanto girl narrowed her eyes, as she knew that Gold grinning was never a good sign. He presented something that looked like…

"Is that a water bottle?" Yellow asked from the passenger seat.

"Seems like it," Silver answered from behind. "If he pours water on us, I swear I'll make him unable to walk for a week."

Gold unscrewed the lid of the water bottle and tossed it, which then hit and exploded over the hood of Blue's windowless car. The water splashed onto Blue and Yellow; Silver wisely hid behind Yellow's seat, thus protecting himself from the icy cold water.

Blue gritted her teeth and clenched the steering wheel really hard. "I think it's safe to say that… Gold will regret being born after I'm done with him."

45 minutes later…

The 13 Dex Holders stood inside a movie theatre, standing in front of the seats. They glanced around, wondering why they were there. Blue clasped her hands together and looked at the cameras.

"So, we're here at the theatre. I assume it's because our staff has been torturing us for too long, so they're giving us a break! Let's watch the movie!"

"What movie are we watching?" Gold asked.

"That's a good question. But who cares? It's time for a break!" Blue exclaimed. "Today's been _far_ too stressful!"

"For you, maybe," Crystal said from behind. "It hasn't been all that stressful for the rest of us."

Before the Dex Holders could move to the seats, they could hear a chime, indicating that it was time to make yet another blind choice.

"Oh, don't do this to me!" Blue yelled out. "Come on!"

"This time, we're going to reveal the question," the main PD said. She showed everyone the question on her sketchbook.

"_Would you like to see the movie?"_

"… Okay, so our choice is obviously yes," Blue said. "So… why bother asking us?"

One of the staff suddenly tossed a large die (roughly half a meter tall) and Sapphire caught it. Three of its sides had "Yes" on it while the other three had "No".

"You roll it, and that's your choice," said the PD.

"I can guarantee that I'm going to end up rolling a no," Blue said with a sigh. "Stupid luck…"

Blue took the die and simply tossed it in the air. She hoped for a positive answer, but her practicality said otherwise. The die spun in the air multiple times and hit the ground. It started to bounce and roll around and landed on a… yes.

All the Dex Holders looked stunned… except Yellow, for some reason. Blue dropped to her knees and let out a long, overjoyed shout.

"YES! YES! FINALLY!"

As Blue celebrated, the other Dex Holders tossed the die one by one. And by the time Blue finished yelling (and even crying just a little), everyone had finished.

Yes: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Crystal, Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum.

No: Gold, Silver, Ruby, Emerald, Pearl.

"Wow… I just can't believe my horrible luck is finally over," Blue said as she wiped away a tear. "It's been a horribly long day, but… it's getting better!"

"So… what happens to us?" Gold asked.

Within 10 minutes, all the Dex Holders were seated on the theatre seats. The Dex Holders who ended up 'refusing' the movie had to sit on backward facing seats, with earmuffs, and weren't allowed to eat, drink, or even sleep.

"Oh, come on! What is this?" Gold yelled out.

"I feel like an idiot looking the wrong way in a movie theatre!" Ruby shouted too.

"Hey! Be quiet! You're in a movie theatre!" Sapphire yelled out. Ironically, she was a lot louder than Ruby…

Eventually, the movie started and everyone who could see and hear enjoyed it. The food being served was delicious, and there were plenty to drink. The others, however… were forced to watch the luckier Dex Holders eat and received a toy hammer shot to the head whenever they dozed off for more than 3 seconds.

Once the movie ended, the Dex Holders all filed out of the movie theatre. The ones who watched talked about the movie while the others talked about how crappy the experience was. The main PD watched them as the rest of the staff packed up. She had told the Dex Holders that the recording for the day was officially over. It was true, but the Dex Holders understood her intentions wrong. They figured that the whole 'choose blindly' event was over, which wasn't quite true.

'_We're going to continue this next week, but the choices will not be as blatant as they were today. Pick carefully… pick __**everything**__ carefully, because you won't even know that you're making a choice. Oh, that's going to be so much fun to watch._'

* * *

><p><strong>For a while, SR will return to the… earlier chapter styles. As in, random events occurring to Dex Holders that aren't in front of a filming crew.<strong>

* * *

><p>Post Ending:<p>

Viridian Forest, Yellow's house…

"Yellow, did you… have anything to do with that die when I tossed it?" Blue asked.

"Why do you ask?" Yellow asked back.

"Because I saw the way the die hit the ground and from what I could tell, it was going to result in no, but it made an additional roll and landed on yes. And you didn't look surprised in the least when my crappy luck finally changed."

Yellow closed her eyes and smiled. "Ah yes… I may have done something there." She rose to her feet and walked up to her friend. "Check this out, Blue. You might think this to be very cool."

Yellow flicked the air in front of Blue's face and the older girl's hat flew off. The younger girl twirled her finger in the air and the hat stopped in midair and spun.

"Whoa…" Blue muttered. "Your telekinetic powers weren't _that_ impressive."

Yellow returned her friend's hat. "I know. I trained a lot. Now my powers aren't limited to moving Pokéballs attached to a string on my fishing rod. Now I can move just about anything as long as it's close by. Like… three or four meters away from me."

"That's incredible, Yellow!"

Yellow grinned as she sat back down on the couch. "Now, Blue… In that show of ours… I recommend that you treat me exceptionally well. It would be a shame if _mysterious_ things start happening around you. Like… your nametag being removed without anyone actually ripping it off. Or even you tripping on absolutely nothing."

Blue's mouth opened in shock. "Yellow… are you actually _threatening_ me?"

"Of course not," Yellow said with a short laugh. "It's just a friendly suggestion."

Blue tried to sit on one of her friend's chairs but it was pulled out of the way just before she could and she ended up crashing on the floor. She glanced at the chair and looked over at Yellow. "Ow… Yellow, why did you do that?"

"Imagine things like that happening at every single show recording. Just keep that in mind. Or maybe… Imagine what would've happened if I didn't help you today."

Blue rose to her feet and put a hand on her sore behind. "Yellow… I never thought I'd say this to you, of all people, but… you are one evil, sadistic girl."

"I just learned from you," Yellow replied. "Besides, you told everyone to act differently in the show than in real life. I'm just doing what you told me to do. And don't worry about it. I won't do anything bad to you outside the show."

"Yeah…" Blue headed towards the door, carefully eyeing the distance between her and Yellow. "I'll… um… see you later."

"Bye."

'_Note to self,_' Blue thought to herself as she headed home.'_Always be on the same side as Yellow in the show… And never get on her nerves… no matter how impossible that may be, anyways._'

* * *

><p><strong>Next up (non-DHC):<br>****Crystal: "Gold, Emerald, I have to go to Blackthorn City to catch something. But because you two need to stay at my house to work on a research project and I can't leave you guys alone, I called someone to come here and look after you."  
><strong>**Emerald: "You mean… a babysitter? Crystal, I never thought you'd treat me like a baby!"  
><strong>**Crystal: "I'm not. I didn't before, I don't now, and I won't ever treat you like that. I could leave **_**you**_** alone, but not with Gold."  
><strong>**Gold: "Hey, what the hell! Super Serious Gal, are you saying that you can't trust me to keep Odd Boy in check?"  
><strong>**Crystal: "I'm not worried about Emerald. I'm worried about **_**you**_**! Anyways, I would've called Green over, but he's busy. And not to mention he'll just think this to be absurd,**** which it kind of is."  
><strong>**Gold and Emerald: "So who did you call over?"  
><strong>**Crystal: ****"Platinum. I could have picked ****Blue or Yellow, but with Blue sick and Yellow gone away with Red, Platinum's all that's left. She's perfect for the job, though. She's been helping me take care of the orphans in Earl's Academy, so she'll know what to do with a little child such as you, Gold."**


	9. Babysitting

**I'm quite surprised that a reviewer knows one of the variety shows where the inspiration/ideas for the DHC came from. Then again, considering that that particular show goes all over the place outside its home country, it's not **_**that**_** surprising.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Babysitting<p>

Violet City, 3 pm…

"Emerald! Be careful!" Crystal yelled.

But the 10th Dex Holder didn't heed her warning and accidentally knocked a Pokémon Egg off the table. Crystal hastily jumped forward and caught the Egg before it hit the floor. The girl herself hit the floor hard from the jump, but the Egg was safe.

"Nice catch, Crystal," Emerald said as he approached his senior. "Too bad, though."

"Huh?" Crystal looked at the Egg and noticed that it was… a fake. It was _plastic_. As Crystal sat fuming, Gold came from behind and gave Emerald a high five. Crystal threw the fake Egg to the floor and jumped to her feet. "Gold! Stop encouraging Emerald like this!"

"Whoa, Crys! There was a real Egg in there!" Gold yelled out with a horrified expression.

"Oh no!" Crystal screamed and knelt beside the smashed plastic Egg. Seeing her expression, Gold and Emerald burst into laughter.

"He got you good! There's no Egg in there!" Emerald said.

Crystal's eyes twitched as she slowly rose to her feet. '_Blood pressure… skyrocketing!_' "Why you…" she growled through clenched teeth as she glared daggers at Gold. Before she could maul/murder him, her Pokégear started to ring. After taking several deep breaths to calm her anger, she answered.

As she talked, Gold and Emerald began whispering to one another. Crystal grabbed a notepad from a desk and whacked Gold on the back of the head with it. Soon, she hung up and let out another sigh. But it was a sigh of relief, Gold noticed. Crystal called someone else on her Pokégear and told the person on the other side to come over quickly.

"Hey Crys, who called you, and who'd you call?" Gold asked once Crystal hung up again.

Crystal massaged her temples to soothe a headache and looked at Gold and Emerald. "Gold, Emerald, I have to go to Blackthorn City to catch something. But because you two need to stay at my house to work on a research project and I can't leave you guys alone, I called someone to come here and look after you."

"You mean… a babysitter?" Emerald asked. "Crystal, I never thought you'd treat me like a baby!"

"I'm not. I didn't before, I don't now, and I won't ever treat you like that. I could leave _you_ alone, but not with Gold."

"Hey, what the hell! Super Serious Gal, are you saying that you can't trust me to keep Odd Boy in check?"

"I'm not worried about Emerald. I'm worried about _you_! Anyways, I would've called Green over, but he's busy. And not to mention he'll just think this to be absurd, which it kind of is."

"So who did you call over?"

"Platinum. I could have picked Blue or Yellow, but with Blue sick and Yellow gone away with Red, Platinum's all that's left. She's perfect for the job, though. She's been helping me take care of the orphans in Earl's Academy, so she'll know what to do with a little child such as you, Gold."

"You're going to get someone who's younger than both of us to babysit us? Don't you think that she'll just obey our orders instead?" Gold asked.

"No, because she'll be listening to _my_ orders," Crystal replied with a smug look. "Not to mention the Dex Holder Pecking Order. Remember that poll you filled out a couple of weeks ago?"

"Yeah."

"We gathered all those results and compiled them into the very first, 100% accurate Dex Holder Pecking Order. First it goes you, Emerald, Black, Pearl, Dia, Sapphire, White, Platinum, Ruby, Silver, me, Yellow, Red, Green, and Blue on top."

"What the hell? I'm on the bottom?" Gold yelled out. "That's just bull-"

"And that's why you're on the bottom. Anyways, Platinum will listen to my orders, and I specifically told her to ignore whatever orders you two give. And besides, you two should listen to her orders regardless. You're just lucky that Platinum's nice enough to not enforce the Pecking Order."

Before long, Platinum arrived and Crystal began to give her instructions. As she did so, the two boys watched from behind, constantly grumbling.

"This is so damn humiliating," Emerald muttered.

"Especially for me…" Gold said with a sigh.

Emerald suddenly grinned. "Hey," he whispered to Gold as he kept his eyes on Platinum. "Want to drive her crazy? It'd be fun."

Gold thought for a second before he grinned as well. "Let's roll. This'll teach those who want to babysit us."

As Platinum bowed farewell to Crystal outside the house, Gold and Emerald got busy. They hit the kitchen and took several ice cubes and began… _decorating_ the floor directly in front of the door. Within a minute, Platinum entered the house and immediately slipped on the iced floor. It was a good thing she wasn't wearing a skirt like normal, or it would have been a lot more embarrassing. Taking an advice from Crystal, the heiress chose to wear a sleeveless black shirt and matching tight shorts. Obviously, a skirt wasn't suitable when dealing with little kids at the orphanage.

Platinum shrieked in surprise and landed on her back. Gold and Emerald appeared from their hiding places, clearly satisfied with the result. Platinum rose to her knees and tried her best to wipe away the water on her shorts and socks.

"Seniors, could you please clean this up?" she asked politely.

Gold looked over at Emerald and gave various hand signals. Though Platinum wouldn't understand, the Hoenn Dex Holder would have understood perfectly. Emerald walked over to the iced floor and purposely stepped on an ice cube. He slipped as planned and 'accidentally' fell onto Platinum, knocking her down.

"Oops, sorry," Emerald said with a fake apologetic look.

"Ugh… senior, please be careful next time."

Gold and Emerald soon cleaned up the mess they created and while Platinum wiped away the water that got on her, the two troublemakers plotted something else. Within a minute, Platinum got out of the washroom and the moment she did, a bucket of water fell on her. She shrieked in surprise (and little anger) and tried to wipe the water out of her eyes.

"Sorry, we were using that for…" Gold started. "Uh… cleaning. Yeah. Cleaning. The bucket was a little heavy for Odd Boy and he lost balance."

Emerald glared at his senior for shifting the blame. But regardless, he gave his junior something to wipe her face. Platinum took it and noticed that it felt rather rough. But she trusted her seniors and tried to use it to wipe away the water. But the moment the 'towel' touched her face, she winced and pulled back. She opened her eyes and through the water in her eyes, she could see…

"Sand paper?" Platinum looked at her seniors in disbelief. "Seniors, how could you?"

"Sorry. I can't feel those kinds of things," Emerald answered. "Fake hands, remember."

"Hey, I'm getting hungry. Platinum, can you make us something to eat?" Gold asked. "I'm sure Crys banned me and Odd Boy from using the toaster or oven or practically anything."

Platinum sighed. "Yes, senior. Seniors, please go over to the dinner table and wait. I shall prepare something after I clean up."

Platinum did her best to wipe away as much water as she could. She entered the washroom once more, locked the door shut and then proceeded to squeeze out as much water as possible from her clothes. She didn't have a spare set of clothes, so she had no choice but to put her clothes back on and hope they dry on their own.

As she began to clean up the puddle of water created by her two troublemaker seniors, the heiress began to understand why Crystal always said that Gold and Emerald put together was an absolute nightmare. Platinum had been babysitting her two seniors for five minutes now and already they were driving her crazy. She sighed in despair as her seniors started to complain about being starving.

By the time Platinum finished cleaning up, she had a big headache. She entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. To make things even worse, there was hardly any food in there. The best she could do was a single bowl of rice and a single side dish consisting of sliced Berries.

"This is it?" Gold asked. "This sucks!"

Platinum appeared a little embarrassed and even ashamed. "I apologize, seniors, but this was the best I could do. Senior Crystal may be able to produce better quality food, but…"

"Eh, whatever. It can't be helped," Gold said as he took the bowl of rice and the side dish all to himself.

"Hey, I'm hungry too!" Emerald yelled as he took the bowl and plate from his senior.

Much to Platinum's dismay, her two seniors started to argue. She simply put a hand over her face and decided to wait, but the argument escalated to the point where she had no choice but to intervene. She decided that splitting the rice and sliced berries into two equal segments and was about to carry out her plan when Gold spoke.

"How about this? We play a game of rock-papers-scissors. The winner of each round gets exactly one spoonful of rice and one slice of Berry. Then the winner gets to put wooden chopsticks on the loser's forehead, pull one end back and far as possible and flick him with it. If the loser doesn't make a sound, then we move on to the next round. But if he does make a sound, then the winner gets another spoonful and slice. How's that?"

"Deal!" Emerald yelled out.

Platinum sighed in relief that her two seniors found a way to… coexist and share. But unfortunately, things weren't as calm as she expected…

The winner of the first round was Gold and as the agreement, he took a spoonful of rice and a slice of Berry. But the spoonful… was an understatement.

"Hey! You call that a single spoonful?" Emerald demanded. "That's like a fifth of the bowl!"

"What? That's my single spoonful! Deal with it!"

Platinum groaned and walked over to the couch in the living room so that she may lie down. She now had a severe headache thanks to her two seniors. Gold and Emerald watched her and silently gave each other a high five. The food game continued and the two continued arguing at every single round. Platinum kept her hands over her ears to avoid listening (and thereby getting stressed), but eventually, she snapped. She ran into the washroom and began to cry. Hearing their junior cry, Gold and Emerald fell silent.

"Do you think we went too far?" Emerald asked in a whisper.

"Maybe. Super Serious Gal's going to kill us now," Gold replied. "Hold on. I'll go talk to her."

Inside the washroom, while _pretending_ to cry, Platinum was filling up the bucket from earlier with hot water. It wasn't at scalding temperature, but it would still hurt. She figured that she wouldn't be able to stop her two seniors from being delinquents. So if she couldn't beat them, then she'd _join_ them.

Before long, the bucket was filled and someone had knocked on the door. In a sniffling voice, she told her senior to come in and the moment the door opened and Gold appeared, she dumped the content of the bucket on top of him. She quickly began to refill the bucket, this time with ice cold water.

"Ow, that's hot! Platinum, what the hell!" Gold yelled out. To his surprise, the heiress was grinning and laughing at him.

Soon, Emerald came as well, wondering what the commotion was about. The moment he appeared in the doorway, Platinum dumped the ice cold water on him. The heiress laughed at her two seniors and carelessly dropped the bucket on the washroom floor. Gold and Emerald glared at her, but she seemed unfazed.

"Oh, _deal with it_," Platinum sneered. She stuck her tongue out at them and headed back towards the dinner table. Her two seniors followed her (without wiping away the water) and sat in their seats. "Well?" Platinum said as she extended her fist. "Are we going to continue the game or not?"

"You're on!" Gold yelled.

The three Dex Holders played the food game and Platinum won the round. With a rather sinister grin, she took her share of food and flicked her two seniors on the forehead as hard as she could possibly manage with the wooden chopsticks. And she angled her attacks so that the corner of the chopsticks would hit her two seniors.

"Ow! Hey, not so hard!" Emerald yelled. "And don't use the corners!"

"Oh, stop being such a _baby_, senior Emerald!" Platinum yelled back. "And since you made a sound, I believe I get another spoonful and slice!"

Several hours later…

Crystal opened the door to her house along with Diamond, who had come for Platinum. Upon looking at the mess inside, Crystal's mouth opened in shock. Gold, Emerald, and Platinum were all playing mindless games (such as pinching each other on the arm as hard as possible without breaking free) and laughing as if they were all insane.

"Oh no…" Crystal muttered.

"What is it?" Diamond asked from behind. "Did something happen to the Lady?"

Crystal closed her eyes and groaned. "She's become one of them…"

* * *

><p><strong>Try not to think about <strong>_**what**_** people in the Pokémon world eat apart from fruits, vegetables, and Berries. There are bound to be meat products, but no non-Pokémon animals to speak of. These kinds of things will be ignored and worked around.**

* * *

><p>Post Ending:<p>

One week later…

"Gold, Emerald," Crystal said as she approached the two troublemakers once more.

"What?"

"White called me and said that she wants me to teach her how to catch Pokémon. Which means, once again, I have to call someone over to watch over you."

"Oh, let him or her come. You saw what happened to Platinum last week," Emerald said with a grin.

"I know," Crystal said with a sigh. "We fixed her good, though. Anyways, it wasn't easy, but I managed to get-" A loud knock on the door interrupted her and she grinned. "He's here."

Crystal opened the door and instantly, Gold and Emerald fell silent. They glanced at each other and then looked at their babysitter in despair. The babysitter wasn't a Dex Holder, so there was no way the two troublemakers could rely on fondness to avoid punishment. The man in the doorway had Magnetons on either shoulder and had his 'patented' Voltorb/Electrode grenade launcher on his back.

"Alright, maggots!" Lt. Surge yelled while maintaining full combat stance. "Let's get to work."

* * *

><p><strong>Next up (non-DHC):<br>****No one likes going to the hospital or dentist for a checkup. But as the other female Dex Holders are about to find out, things are a **_**hell**_** of a lot worse when Blue's around…**


	10. Appointments

**SR is on thin ice, though the metaphorical ice is still a hell of a lot thicker than SA's. But unlike SA, SR's metaphorical ice is getting a little thicker and… alright, screw the metaphor. SR's possible cancellation was on the news during the last SR update. However, last chapter showed hope and promise. Depending how this one goes, I may decide a) scrap SR entirely (probably not going to happen), b) continue as if the whole cancellation warning didn't happen at all, or c) scrap all of the DHC plans and go with a more… **_**classical**_** SR approach (as in, chapters in the likes of SR #001~003), which is what I'm testing right now. However, if option "c)" is selected as the course of action, the "3 Paths torture" chapters will mention the cancelled DHC events, as they are on the same continuity. The new satisfaction rate will tell you that while SR is at risk of being cancelled, it's nowhere near as bad as SA.**

**And now that I've begun incorporating Generation V stuff into SE/SA/SR, I might as well put secondary homes for Black and White.**

**Dex Holder locations in SR (updates in italics):  
>Red, Blue: Pallet Town (house).<br>Green: Viridian City (Gym).  
>Yellow, Silver: Viridian City (house).<br>Gold: New Bark Town (big f*cking house).  
>Crystal: Violet City (house).<br>Ruby: Goldenrod City (house).  
>Sapphire: Azalea Town (house).<br>Emerald: Violet City (Earl's Academy).  
>Diamond, Pearl: Saffron City (apartment).<br>Platinum: Cerulean City (apartment).  
><strong>_**Black, White: Cherrygrove City (apartment).**_

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Appointments<p>

Cerulean City, 12 pm…

Blue sat on a chair inside the Pokémon Center, waiting for her fellow female Dex Holders to gather for a… lunch. Yes, lunch. Surely there was nothing wrong with the first female Dex Holders treating her friends and juniors a nice lunch, now was there?

As Blue contemplated on the plans for the day, the doors to the Pokémon Center opened and Platinum entered. The heiress saw her senior and after a polite bow, quickly ran up to her.

"Hi, Platinum," Blue said cheerfully after a friendly wave.

"Hello, senior Blue. How are you today?"

"Oh, I'm doing _great_," Blue replied with an oddly devious look. "What about you?"

"I am doing well, senior. Thank you for asking." Platinum took a brief look around the Pokémon Center. "Where are the others?"

"They haven't arrived yet. But they're coming."

Platinum sat down on a chair to the side of her senior's. "Um… senior Blue, if I may ask… why are you buying lunch for us today?"

Blue looked over at her with a slightly surprised expression. "Huh? Why do you ask?"

"It is not anyone's birthday to my recollection," the heiress started. "And you have only invited the female Dex Holders. I was merely wondering whether you have an ulterior motive."

Blue narrowed her eyes and glared at Platinum. "Can't I treat my juniors with a nice lunch? And are you suspecting your senior of plotting something diabolical?" She kept her glare so that her junior may stop asking. The heiress was clever. She had already noticed something odd about the sudden invitation. Blue knew that she was going to have to be careful…

"N – No, of course not," Platinum quickly replied, rather surprised by the upset look on her senior's face. "I am terribly sorry if I offended you."

"Good. Now let's just wait until the others arrive," Blue said as she lightened her expression. She internally sighed in relief and glanced at her watch. The others had better arrive within 20 minutes…

10 minutes later…

Yellow quickly entered the Pokémon Center. She arrived last because she had accidentally overslept. Seeing all of the other female Dex Holders waiting for her inside, she gave them an apologetic bow before joining them.

"Great, now that everyone's here," Blue said as she looked at the others. "Let's get going. We don't have much time. The appoi-er… _reservation_ is at 12:30."

The 6 female Dex Holders left the Pokémon Center and headed towards the pre-selected restaurant.

"Blue, why are you doing this?" Crystal asked abruptly. "I've known you for years and I've never seen you buy lunch for anyone except Silver."

'_Crys, not you too!_' "I'm just trying to treat my juniors to lunch! What's so wrong with that?"

Crystal looked even more suspicious. "Then… why wait 6 years to buy _me_ lunch?"

"Well, I didn't think about it back then!" Blue exclaimed. "I had enough stuff to worry about!" She sighed as she quickly thought of a retaliation, or at least some countermeasures to prevent any more suspicious questions. "Alright, Crys. If you don't want me buying lunch that much, … why don't _you_ pay for today?"

"No thanks. _You_ made the reservations, after all."

"Alright. In that case, _no more questions _about my motif!" Blue yelled as she came to a stop in front of a building. "Because we're here!"

Before the others could look up and see what building it was, Blue forcefully pushed them all inside. White saw just enough though…

"A general hospital?" she asked. "What are we doing here?"

The other female Dex Holders froze and turned to look at Blue. The oldest girl gave them a sinister grin.

"Ah, Crys, Platinum, you two are very clever. You noticed that I was planning something before I put it in motion. Yellow, Sapphire, I didn't expect any suspicion from you two, so that's fine. And White, you just don't know me enough."

Sapphire looked a little scared. "What are we doing here?"

"You are all here because of a… Dex Holder health plan Professor Oak started a few days ago. We can't have the heroes who save the world during every crisis be affected by various health concerns, now can we? So we are all here to get a checkup. Dental clinic first, then a blood test. That'll be all for today."

"So no lunch?" Sapphire asked. "But I'm starving here…"

"Don't worry about that," Blue said. "I'm a woman of my words. I am going to treat you all a very nice lunch, but _after_ we're done here."

The other female Dex Holders looked at each other in misery, as if the other had a solution. Soon, they were all forced towards the dental clinic on the northern side of the building. Upon entering the clinic, Blue sent out her Ditto to guard the door so that no one tried to escape.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," White started with a faked laugh. "I'm already in the BW Agency health plan! So I don't need to do this!"

"Oh, yes you do," Blue said. "I've done some research. Your company does have a health plan, but not a _dental_ plan. The Dex Holder health plan covers everything. So you still have no way out here. Nice try though."

Sapphire glanced at White and growled through clenched teeth. "What, were you planning on leaving us here while you escape free?"

"In these kinds of situations, it's every woman for herself, you know," White replied. "It was worth a try… I _hate_ going to the dentist!"

"There is _nothing_ you can do that'll get you out of this place prematurely," Blue said with a laugh.

"It's bad enough that Ruby forces me to go to a dentist every now and then," Sapphire grumbled. She perked up as a thought occurred. "Wait… Ruby!" She quickly ran up to Blue and clasped her hands together. "Ruby just called and said that he needed help with a Salamence problem! I need to go right now!"

Blue shook her head. "Nice try, Sapphire. You don't even have a Pokégear. How can Ruby call you?"

"Damn…" Sapphire grumbled as she backed away.

Platinum tried next. She put on some fake tears and got on her knees in front of Blue. "Senior Blue, my father contacted me and said that he is very ill. I need to go to him as soon as possible."

Blue still shook her head. "You can go to him once we're done."

The heiress wiped away the fake tears and joined Sapphire and White in waiting for the inevitable. Crystal tried next, with something… different.

"You bitch!" she yelled at her senior, surprising every Dex Holder present. "You drag me all the way here from a very important research project just so you could trick me?! If having a Pokédex means I'm stuck with you, then I don't want it!"

"How dare you?!" Blue yelled back. "I should drag you outside and kick your…" she trailed off upon realizing something. "Oh wait a second, I see what you're trying to do here." She chuckled and patted her junior on the shoulder. "Nice try, Crys. You almost had me!"

"So even that didn't work?" Crystal muttered. She bowed to her senior apologetically. "I'm really sorry, Blue. I didn't mean any of those and I take them all back."

"Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean anything. You were only trying to escape the inevitable." Blue looked over at Yellow, who was staring blankly at the floor. "What about you, Yellow? Do you want to try something?"

"Um…" Yellow stammered as she thought. "… Red wants me with him?"

Before Blue could reply to her friend's horrible escape attempt, a nurse walked closer. "We're ready for one of you."

"Great," Blue said with a devious smile. "I'd go first, but I already did all this a few days ago when the Dex Holder health plan first started. So Yellow, why don't you go first?"

Yellow gulped in nervousness and slowly followed the nurse. As she did so, she could hear the terrifying whir of dental tools and various sounds made by metal scraping against teeth. Blue grinned from behind as she watched her terrified friend. She remembered the horrible experience from a few days ago, which was why she was dragging the other female Dex Holders into this mess. If she was going to suffer all these dental nightmares, so should everyone else.

Before long, Yellow's scream echoed from ahead and all the girls except Blue started to tremble. The devious Dex Holder grinned and decided that she needed to scare the others one more time. She got her Ditto to Transform into something…

White pressed her hands against her ears so that she wouldn't hear the terrible whir and scream. But suddenly, there was a loud whir right beside her ear and she quickly jumped backwards. She could see her senior holding a fake set of teeth (Ditto) and a dental _drill_ (also Ditto), smiling as if she was having a wonderful time. Sadistic monster…

"Imagine," Blue started. "A drill like this, whirring like crazy, drilling your teeth deep inside your mouth, and you can feel the strong vibrations in your _brain_!" Blue got her Ditto to transform into a large needle. "And what's more? Sometimes, the doctors may stab your gums with a huge needle like this one so that you don't feel any pain. But you know what? They don't work that well, because they don't inject enough!"

"Blue, stop scaring us!" Sapphire yelled out.

"Y – Yes! Please stop!" Platinum added.

"You're a monster, you know that?" Crystal grumbled out.

Blue got her Ditto to transform into two dental drills and with one whirring in either hand, walked up to Crystal. She then moved the two drills close to the girl's ears and laughed as she trembled in terror with her eyes clenched shut. Just then, a nurse came close, announcing that another Dex Holder must go and face the terror.

"Crys," Blue said with a grin. "_You're up_!"

Once Crystal was dragged away by the nurse, Sapphire jumped to her feet. "I'm next! I'm next! I have to get out of here!"

She quickly made a run for the exit, but Blue's Ditto was already there, formed into a giant spider web. Sapphire soon got entangled on the Ditto and struggled to get free. But then, those damned dental drills started to form everywhere and started to whir, really loud. She could feel the terrible vibrations everywhere… She tried to scream, but Blue clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Sapphire, you're making a scene in public," Blue warned with a temporarily stern look. "And it's _hilarious_!"

20 minutes later, Yellow came back, her face pale from terror. With a grin, Blue patted Sapphire on the back, indicating that it was her turn now. As the nurse dragged Sapphire away, White sighed in relief while Platinum shuddered in fear.

"I'm last! Good thing I'm the 15th Dex Holder!" White exclaimed rather happily. "Though in cases like this, it could be better to go first…"

"I – I am next? Oh no…" Platinum muttered in terror.

But when Crystal came back (in the same terrified expression as Yellow) along with the dreaded nurse, Blue patted _White_ on the back.

"You're up."

"Wh – What?!" the president exclaimed. "B – But… I'm last!"

"Who said we were going by Dex Holder order?" Blue asked with a sinister smile. "We're going by _age_. You're older than Platinum."

Platinum sighed in relief as White was dragged away. Blue sat beside her and patted her on the shoulder.

"Senior… is going to the dentist… always this frightening?" Platinum asked.

"Yes it is," Blue replied. "Trust me. If I wasn't here with you, this would've been a lot scarier." A blatant lie, of course.

Another twenty minutes later, Sapphire returned in the same manner as her predecessors. Platinum gathered her courage and followed the nurse on her own will, unlike the others who were dragged away.

Another twenty minutes later, Blue dragged everyone towards the second half of the appointments she made that day.

"Blue… where are we going now?" Yellow asked.

"Why do you sound so tired?" Blue asked back. "It's only been an hour!"

"That hour felt like a year to us," White muttered.

"Well this part, you don't have to worry!" Blue said cheerfully. "You're all going to do a little blood test!"

"What?" Crystal muttered, her face turning ghastly pale.

Blue's Ditto Transformed into a huge needle. "This time, this big needle is going to _into_ your arm! And we're at the right place!"

The 6 Dex Holders followed the nurse to a room in which a doctor waited. The doctor soon presented them the 5 (huge) needles that were going to be used to withdraw the blood of the 5 victims.

"Any volunteers?" the doctor asked.

Obviously, no Dex Holder spoke up.

"This time… Crys, you're up first," Blue said.

Crystal clenched her teeth but decided to embrace her fate. The four others sighed in relief, but still appeared very tense, as they had no idea what order Blue was choosing. The doctor prepared a needle and Crystal clenched her eyes shut.

"Relax," the doctor said nicely. "This'll be a lot easier if you're not tense." He then _stabbed_ the needle into the vein in Crystal's arm. "And don't move. If you do move, the needle may hit the bone and that'll be excruciating."

Crystal froze up in terror. She groaned as the needle started to suck in her blood. Even Blue looked away from the scene. Soon, the doctor finished with Crystal and called for the next 'volunteer'. Crystal leaned against the wall and let out a shuddering sigh.

"I knew I should've just stayed home today…"

"Next… Sapphire!"

"What order are you going by this time?" White asked.

Blue grinned. "_Height_. Which means, you're next."

The president sighed. "You know… I heard from the others that you were… _evil_, but I didn't think you were _this_ evil!"

"Well, if there are more future Dex Holders, you can do to them what I'm doing to you!"

"No… that's bad for my company's reputation," White said as she shook her head.

The doctor prepared the needle for Sapphire, but the girl was thrashing around a bit too much. As a result, the other 5 Dex Holders had to forcefully hold her down so that the needle could enter the vein and withdraw the blood without too much problems.

"You know, this is taking too much time," Blue said after Sapphire was done. "I'm getting really hungry too. So let's speed this up." Blue took one of the unused needles and looked at White. "White, let's do this. The doctor can cover Yellow and Platinum."

"Wh – What? Why me?" the president stammered out.

"Because you're the new girl."

"You call that a reason?"

Blue took a ball of cotton and with a disinfectant, cleaned the area around her junior's arm. "Now remember. Don't move."

"H – Have you done this before?" White asked nervously.

"Yep," Blue replied as she aimed with the needle.

"When?"

Blue stabbed the needle into White's arm. The president gasped in pain at the sudden entry. "Just now." She looked at the needle's point of entry and noticed something. "Oops. I missed the vein. I'll try again…"

"Hey! Ow! Ow!"

Blue tried again anyways and this time, hit the vein. She began drawing the blood when the doctor noticed what she was doing.

"I think the needle went in a bit too deep," he said upon observing the needle. "And that's way more blood than we need."

White put a hand over her face and groaned. Blue saw her expression and grinned.

"Hey White, relax," she said. "The needle won't come out because you're tense. If I try to pull it out, the needle might break and be stuck in your arm."

White looked really scared and forced herself to loosen up. Blue laughed and pulled the needle out. The president took a clean ball of cotton and pressed it against the two holes in her skin.

"Can we go eat now?" Sapphire asked.

"Yep. Let's go!"

The 6 Dex Holders soon left the general hospital and headed towards a restaurant. While Blue appeared perfectly normal, the others appeared absolutely exhausted.

"Tell me," Crystal said to Blue. "Is Gold going to have to go through this?"

"Of course. Every Dex Holder has to," Blue replied. "So… why don't you all force another Dex Holder through this? So far, Red, Green, and I have already done a checkup. So apart from all of you, there are… Gold, Silver, Ruby, Emerald, Dia, Pearl, and Black left."

"I'll get Gold…" Crystal muttered.

"I'll take Ruby. I bet that sissy would faint at the sight of a needle," Sapphire said as she clenched a hand into a fist.

"I suppose I shall take Diamond. Though I do not wish to do so, for his health, I will."

"Well… Black needs to be in some health plan, I guess," White muttered.

"Alright then. In that case, I'll get Silver, Emerald, and Pearl," Blue said. "And we'll be doing this twice a year!"

The other Dex Holders groaned, but nodded. There was no way out… but on the plus side, at least they were going to remain perfectly healthy…

* * *

><p><strong>Next up (non-DHC):<br>****The heiress of a television company in Sinnoh demands ownership of Platinum's Pokédex! The two heiresses wage war on each other for the right to become/remain a Dex Holder. But of course, Platinum won't be alone in the fight.**

* * *

><p>Post Ending:<p>

Blue walked towards a café in Viridian City, under the thought of getting herself a nice iced coffee. But as she passed a certain tree, Sapphire dropped from the branches above and grabbed the Kanto girl's arms.

"Hey, what the?!" Blue yelled out.

Crystal, Platinum, and White appeared out of their hiding places and grabbed onto their senior's limb. They all wanted revenge… except Yellow, because she was very nice.

"Hi Blue, how are you doing?" Crystal asked with a sinister grin.

"F – Fine?"

"Good. We're taking you to a general hospital," White said.

"Why?"

"Because you're donating blood!" Sapphire said from behind.

Platinum gave her senior an evil smile. Blue noticed that her junior's eyes were very scary that day… "Do not worry, senior Blue," Platinum started. "If you do not struggle, the donation will be quick and painless…"


	11. The Other

**Category: SE**

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: The Other<p>

Pallet Town, Professor Oak's research center…

"Oak, we have a problem!"

Surprised, Crystal turned to look at the picture phone. She could see Professor Rowan, looking rather alarmed.

"Hello, professor," the Johto Dex Holder said after a polite bow. "Professor Oak is currently busy. If you'd like, I could give him a mess-"

"This is an emergency. Get the professor on the line, quickly!" the elderly professor said.

"Yes sir."

Crystal quickly left to fetch the professor. She didn't know what this 'emergency' was, but she hoped that it wasn't world-threatening or serious. She remembered the last time when a professor contacted her due to an emergency. She remembered the emotional pain she went through upon hearing that her friends and seniors had been turned into stone…

She snapped out of her thoughts when she walked into a wall. She put a hand on her nose and groaned… she had never been lost in thought that deep, to not have noticed the wall right in front of her… She hoped that no one saw that…

"Uh… Crystal?" came Professor Oak's voice. "Are you okay?"

"Oh… yes, I'm perfectly fine," Crystal quickly replied, blushing in embarrassment. "Professor Rowan called. He said it was an emergency…"

Professor Oak quickly went to answer the phone while Crystal remained outside of the room. She figured that whatever the emergency was, it wasn't related to her. But to her horror, when the professor returned, he looked rather grave.

"Crystal, gather everyone."

Two hours later, all 15 Dex Holders were gathered in the main room of Professor Oak's lab. Before long, the professor entered, having contacted Professor Rowan once more.

"So, professor, what's up?" Red asked.

"First, let me tell you something," the professor started. "Platinum, this involves you."

"Me, professor?" the heiress asked, confused.

"Yes. The truth is, the Pokédex you have was… not supposed to go to you. The daughter of the television company in Sinnoh had contacted Professor Rowan and asked for a Pokédex. The professor knew that this girl was quite… greedy and arrogant, and overall, not suited to have the Pokédex. So he lied, saying that it was to be given to someone else. The girl demanded one anyways, and the professor was running out of excuses. Then, a week later, your father asked for the three Pokédexes, one for you and the others for your bodyguards. I'm sure you know more about what happened afterwards than I do."

"Yes, professor. Due to a misunderstanding, Diamond and Pearl received them instead."

"Now… shortly after the crisis on Mt. Coronet and the Battle Zone, this girl… I think her name was… Violet, was it? Anyways, she went to Professor Rowan and eventually found out that you 'snatched' her Pokédex. Though she fell ill shortly after then forgot about the Pokédex incident afterwards, she now remembers it and is coming here to take back what was supposed to be hers."

"What? The Pokédex is now Platinum's. The other girl has no right to demand it," Gold said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, well… Professor Rowan and I can't handle this girl… she's way too demanding and aggressive. I think the only way to get her to change her mind is… either to show her how dangerous it is to be a Dex Holder, or to have Platinum compete with her to see who will receive the Pokédex. The choice, I leave up to all of you."

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Professor Oak jumped in surprise.

"That's probably her! She can't see me here! Crystal, distract her!"

Crystal simply looked at the professor as he scurried away to hide somewhere. After a short sigh, she went over to the door and opened it. She could see a younger girl with long yellow hair and green eyes.

"Can I help you?" Crystal asked with a smile.

The other heiress simply walked past her, not even acknowledging Crystal's presence.

"You, Berlitz!" she yelled the moment she saw Platinum. She quickly stormed towards her and without warning, slapped her across the face. "Give me my Pokédex back!"

Platinum looked shocked as she put a hand on her cheek. She looked at her seniors, wondering what to do. Crystal narrowed her eyes while Red and Gold looked back and forth between the two heiresses. Sapphire rose to her feet and simply threw the other heiress backwards.

"Platinum, are you okay?" she asked.

"How dare you!" the other heiress screamed. However, none of the Dex Holders were paying any attention.

Platinum nodded as she rubbed her cheek. "Um… perhaps we should find another place to settle this dispute," she said quietly.

White rose to her feet. "I think I have the perfect solution!"

"What do you have in mind?" Blue asked. "If your solution involves a camera crew…"

"Of course it does!" White exclaimed. "We want a solution that'll have absolutely no conflicting arguments, right? We don't want both sides claiming they won. We want a perfectly clear decision. So, we'll have Platinum vs. … whatever your name was, to-"

"My name is Violet, you ignorant commoner!" the other heiress yelled angrily.

White ignored her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyways, we'll have the faceoff in a stadium filled with witnesses and have a total of 7 different competition categories. The first person to win 4 times will keep the Pokédex!"

"What are the categories?" Black asked.

White wrote the 7 categories on a sheet of paper and copied it on another. She then handed one sheet to Platinum and tossed the other to the other heiress. Platinum silently read the 7 categories but didn't look confident at all.

"I do not think I can win in any of these categories," she muttered sadly.

"That's because you're a worthless imbecile!" the other heiress yelled.

White hesitated but Blue signaled her to continue. The president cleared her throat and continued.

"A – Anyways, I'll call it… _The Duel of the Year_, and have it broadcast in all the regions. It'll take place in a month, in Nimbasa City's small sports court. So until then, I suggest you prepare for the duel. I've given you the categories, so you'll know what to expect."

"Fine! I'll beat that worthless Berlitz in a second!" the other heiress yelled. She soon stormed out of the lab, leaving the Dex Holders to themselves.

The moment the door shut, Platinum's expression lightened significantly. "Now that she is gone, I must show my true thoughts. I do believe that I will win this duel quite easily."

White sighed in relief. "Oh, so you were only acting. Good. I thought I made the categories way too hard for you…"

Platinum rose to her feet and looked at her seniors. "Seniors, may I ask for your assistance? I believe that I will need assistance in preparing for some of the categories and practicing on the others."

"Of course we'll help," Red said. He walked up to Platinum and took the sheet with the categories. He walked up to a chalkboard on the wall and wrote the 7 categories.

Blue looked at the chalkboard and whistled in amazement. "Wow. Those are some… interesting categories. A wide variety…" She walked up to the chalkboard. "Alright… for the Battle, I'm sure Red and Green's help would be more than enough. For Trivia… I guess you don't really need any help, Platinum. But just to be sure, Emerald and Black will help you with that. Chess Game… Crys and I will take that one. 100 Meter Dash… Sapphire and Pearl can cover that one. Pokémon Super Contest… Ruby and White, of course."

"Wait, why me for the Contest?" White asked.

"Because a Super Contest is more or less the same as the Pokémon Musical, which you created," Blue replied. "Next… Self Defense? Oh… fencing, and… really, White? Hand-to-hand combat?"

"With protective gear, of course," the president replied.

Blue shook her head. "Whatever… Gold and Silver can handle those. Which means the last category of… Cooking, will be left to Yellow and Dia. Alright then! Let's get the preparations started!"

Red and Green approached Platinum. "Come with us," Red said. "We'll make sure that you win against that other girl in exactly one hit."

Platinum gladly followed her two seniors while White began making arrangements for the _Duel of the Year_…

One month later, Nimbasa City, Unova…

The small stadium was packed with people attending the _Duel of the Year_. There was a total of 5000 registered people, 1000 from each of the regions. They were all eager to witness the event, and as advertised by White, two people who successfully guessed the winner of each category will receive a reward, namely a fully paid tour around any three regions.

In the center of the stadium, the 13 Dex Holders were seated in front of the two competitors while White stood between them with a microphone on one hand and the sought-after Pokédex in the other. While the president delivered the sponsor messages and all sorts of live-event related business, Platinum took a deep shuddering breath. She had never been so nervous before… But with the help of her seniors, she knew she was going to win.

"Alright! Let's get the _Duel of the Year_ started!" White yelled through the microphone. "Give us the first category!" she yelled as she pointed at the large screen on the back wall of the stadium. The BW Agency staff in the backstage randomly selected one of the categories and projected the results onto the screen. "Ah! The 100 Meter Dash!"

Some of the BW Agency staff quickly prepared for the 100 Meter Dash. Before long, Platinum and Violet both were standing in front of a long painted line that was exactly 100 meters long. The winner would be determined by whoever reaches the finish line first.

The two heiresses prepared for the run as the audience began voting for the expected winner. The vote's results appeared on the screen next to the one that currently showed the duel category. Platinum was rather shocked to see that roughly 85% of the people thought that she was going to lose. Then again, it wasn't _that_ surprising. Platinum knew that she wasn't fast. Even though Sapphire and Pearl have tried their best, she didn't get much faster. She tried the same 'running' method as Sapphire and almost broke her arm as a result.

Soon, White gave the two heiresses the signal to go. In that instant, the two heiresses began their full powered sprint. Platinum clenched her teeth as she ran. She could see that the other heiress was slightly ahead. Platinum shut her eyes and ran as fast as she could. But just before the finish line, Violet 'accidentally' kicked Platinum in the ankle, forcing her to stumble and fall. No one would've been able to see, as Platinum was a bit too close to Violet while running.

A group of Dex Holders quickly rushed to Platinum's side the moment she hit the ground. The heiress clutched her injured ankle as she looked up at the scoreboard. It was now at 0:1 in Violet's favor.

"Can you walk?" Blue asked, snapping the heiress out of her thoughts.

"I – I think so," she muttered as she slowly tried to get to her feet. She managed to do so, but was unstable.

"Unfortunately for Platinum," White said through the microphone. "Violet is the winner of this round. Can we have our second category?"

Platinum carefully rotated her ankle as she looked at the category screen. To her surprise (and back luck), the next category was Self Defense…

"Oh… even more unfortunate for Platinum, the next category is Self Defense," White said. "The Self Defense category has two sections, fencing and hand-to-hand combat. The score will be determined by professional judges and whoever scores the highest total will win the round."

Violet smirked and walked towards her supporters so that she could wear the protective gear for fencing. Platinum limped towards the other Dex Holders for the same reason. The remaining audience (15% weren't allowed to vote as they voted for the wrong heiress in the first round. They were moved to the back of the stadium, under the various screens, still watching the event) started to vote. Again, a vast majority voted for Violet (91%).

Once the two heiresses were ready, White gave the signal for them to start. Platinum soon realized that swinging an indestructible billiard cue like a madman and properly using a (fake) rapier were… completely different. She was good, but it seemed that Violet was slightly better. Platinum clenched her teeth as her ankle started to throb. She saw an opening and thrust the rapier forward. But her bad ankle made her stumble, allowing Violet to get the winning strike instead.

The hand-to-hand combat (where first one to hit the ground loses) wasn't any different. Silver had taught her very well; Platinum had no trouble blocking all of Violet's attacks. But her injured ankle made it very difficult for her to retaliate. But she had to strike back, or she'd lose.

Platinum attempted an attack but stumbled forward once again. Violet took the opportunity and kicked her in the ribs as hard as possible. Even though the protective armor took most of the impact, the kick still hurt a lot. Platinum tried to regain balance but received a kick to the chest, pushing her backwards. Violet went to deliver another kick and at that instant, Platinum tripped and the kick ended up striking her head. The impact almost knocked her unconscious and she collapsed onto the ground.

The other Dex Holders quickly rushed to her side. Blue took the protective headgear off of her junior and tried to see if she had a concussion. Diamond and Pearl took the body armor off so that the heiress could breathe.

Platinum had tears in her eyes as she gasped for air. She managed to look over at the scoreboard which now read 0:2.

"Platinum, how many fingers am I holding up?" Red asked as he held up 3 fingers in front of his junior's face.

The heiress blinked and squinted. "Th – Three…"

"Platinum, I know it's very hard, but you have to continue," Blue said with a worried look. "If you're unable to continue now, you'll lose."

The heiress nodded and with the help of her seniors (and junior), slowly rose to her feet. She put a hand on her head to help ease the throbbing. White felt really bad for her senior, but had no choice but to continue.

The third category was Cooking, in which 83% of the remaining audience voted for Violet. Platinum found it very difficult to focus. Diamond had shown her just about every recipe he knew and helped her master them. Even Yellow helped here and there, despite her… not-so-great cooking skills. But Platinum couldn't remember any of them. She didn't even know what she was doing. By the time she recovered enough from the kick to the head to realize what was happening, the scoreboard was at 0:3.

The Dex Holders all rushed to Platinum's side. White temporarily abandoned her post as the MC and got a doctor from backstage. Platinum looked at her seniors with a frightened expression. She was one more loss away from losing her Pokédex.

"Platinum," Blue started in a worried tone. "Dex Holder or not, you'll always be our friend. And I think you should go to a hospital. I really think you have a concussion."

"N – No, senior," Platinum said, shaking her head. "I cannot lose…"

The other Dex Holders looked on with a worried look as the doctor ran some tests with Platinum. The result was that the heiress was suffering a minor concussion.

"Lady," Diamond said as he grabbed her hands. "Please… go with the doctor to a hospital."

"I will," Platinum said slowly. "But _after_ I win." She looked at White with determination clearly visible on her face. "Junior White, please continue with the program."

"Are you sure?" White asked.

"Yes."

White hesitantly returned to her post as MC. She grabbed the microphone again and after a sigh, got the BW Agency staff in backstage to pick another random category. The fourth category was Trivia. Roughly 95% of the remaining people voted for Violet, as they believed that Platinum had no chance given her concussion.

The BW Agency staff on the stage set up for the Trivia category, game show style. Platinum sat on her seat but still appeared to have trouble focusing. Violet, knowing that she won, smirked and sat on the other side.

"The rules are simple," White said as she cast a worried glance at Platinum. "I will ask three questions. The first person to answer two correct is the winner."

"Just get on with it!" Violet yelled angrily. "Let's get this farce over with already!"

White took a deep breath. "Okay… here's the question: _What is the signature Pokémon of the champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia?_"

Before Platinum even blinked, Violet hit her buzzer.

"Garchomp," she answered.

"… Correct," White said after another worried glance at Platinum. "… Second question: _What Pokémon can have the Ability Drought? List in numerical order_."

Again, Violet hit the buzzer first. "Groudon. Only Groudon," she answered. Afterwards, she rose to her feet and walked towards White so that she could get 'her' Pokédex. "Now give me my Pokédex back!"

White grinned. "I'm sorry, but that answer is _incorrect_."

"What?!" Violet demanded.

Platinum hit her buzzer. "Vulpix, Ninetales, Groudon," she answered slowly.

"Correct!" White yelled. She looked at her senior and saw that her eyes were completely focused. Either the heiress had just snapped out completely, or the blank look during the first question was a ploy. "Here's the final question: _Unova Pokédex has an entry for #000, namely Victini. What is Victini's unique Move?_"

Violet simply stared at White, as she had never even heard of that Pokémon before. Platinum smiled. She recalled hearing about Victini from Black _and_ White; the advantage of being a Dex Holder… Although the two Unova Dex Holders didn't see Victini's unique Move being used, Platinum had done some research with them and learned about it.

Platinum hit her buzzer. "I believe it is called Searing Shot," she answered calmly.

"Correct!" White yelled happily. The other Dex Holders cheered as well and the scoreboard changed to 1:3. Platinum walked towards the other Dex Holders and celebrated with them for a short moment.

The fifth category was Pokémon Super Contest. 90% of the remaining people (160 remaining out of 5000) voted for Platinum. This time, Platinum won without a shred of doubt. She remembered all the decorating tips she received from Ruby and the best way to appeal to audience from White. On the contrast, Violet was a little upset from the (what she viewed as) unfair and biased questions. As such, she wasn't able to decorate/dress her Pokémon properly, resulting in 9 of the 10 Contest judges choosing Platinum. The heiress smiled in relief as the scoreboard showed 2:3.

The sixth category was the Chess Game, leaving the Battle to be the very last. 80% of the audience voted for Violet, believing that Platinum's minor concussion would hinder her again. But it seemed that the experience Platinum gained from watching hundreds of games between her seniors and even challenging them (experience that was greatly boosted by direct training from Blue and Crystal) would not be hindered by the minor concussion.

Platinum even used her concussion to her advantage. She purposely gave openings in her formation, prompting Violet to attack. The game was projected onto the big screen and Blue could see what her junior was thinking.

The moment Violet attacked with her vehicles, she regret her decision. Platinum's elephant moved in and pinned it in position, rendering it harmless unless it went for a suicide attack to take out a pawn at best.

Violet gritted her teeth as the scoreboard soon turned to 3:3. But perhaps to her advantage, Platinum looked like she was struggling to stay in focus. A huge advantage for Violet… 26 of the 28 remaining people seemed to think so too. The other Dex Holders seemed to have the same thoughts and looked extremely worried, except for Red, Green, and Crystal.

"Lady seems to be suffering really bad," Diamond said in panic. "She won't be able to focus on the battle… She's going to lose… I can't believe it!"

"Don't worry," Red said calmly. "Platinum will win."

Crystal sighed. "She better…"

"How do you know?" Pearl asked.

"We just do," Green answered.

"Trust us. Platinum will _not_ lose," Red said in an assuring tone. "In fact, with the help we gave her, she'll win within 5 seconds."

"Alright, let's get the final round started!" White yelled through the microphone. "Currently, we have 26 people who chose Violet to be the winner while 2 have chosen Platinum. If Violet wins, then we will draw 2 people at random for the winner of the prize! If Platinum wins, then the 2 people will be the winners! The final category is a Pokémon Battle. Both sides will only use one Pokémon, and they are not allowed to switch! Now, let's start the battle!"

Platinum sent out her Empoleon while Violet sent out Camerupt.

"I'm going to win this in a second, Berlitz!" Violet yelled. "Go, Fire Blast!"

Platinum forced her mind to focus. She pointed at the Camerupt and gave her Empoleon exactly one order. "Hydro Cannon!"

Violet screamed in anger and surprise as the Fire Blast was completely overwhelmed by the Ultimate Attack. The attack still had more than enough power to instantly knock out the Camerupt, despite its Solid Rock Ability. As Red claimed, Platinum had won the battle within 5 seconds. 3 seconds, in fact.

"Whoa!" Pearl muttered. "Miss Lady can use Hydro Cannon?"

"Yeah. We thought it was about time she learned the Ultimate Move," Red answered.

Crystal sighed. "I still don't see why _I_ had to be her training partner for the 3 Paths…"

"Well, we weren't going to use Emerald or Dia. They can't run all that well," Red answered.

"What about you? Your starter Pokémon is Grass and you can run perfectly fine!" Crystal argued.

"I need to watch her train and make sure she's doing everything right. Green and I both needed to do that."

Crystal sighed again. "Whatever… at least it's over…"

"And there you have it!" White exclaimed in joy through the microphone. "Platinum wins! The score is 4:3! Platinum is the final winner! The Pokédex stays with her! For the remaining two people who chose correctly for all 7 rounds, please follow my assistants to the front desk of this stadium where you can claim your prize!"

The moment she finished, she put the microphone down and ran towards Platinum to check her condition. The heiress was currently crying into Diamond's shoulder, relieved that she would remain a Dex Holder. Violet seemed very angry, but with thousands of live witnesses and millions watching on all the regions, there was no way she could argue. She simply stormed away, leaving the Dex Holders to themselves.

"You did great, Platinum!" Blue said happily. "You never gave up even though you lost 3 rounds in a row. I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah. Even with a concussion," Red added. "… Which you should get checked. Come, we're taking you to the nearest hospital."

Platinum nodded. She sighed in relief and wiped away the tears as her seniors and friends helped her towards the exit where an ambulance was waiting.

"I am really glad that I am still a Dex Holder," she said happily. "I am really proud and honored to be one of you, seniors…"

* * *

><p><strong>The whole duel thing was an actual event on one of the variety shows that I watch. Except in there, there were 9 rounds in total and the upset victory… wasn't there. The only category which I used from that duel (which was called the <strong>_**Duel of the Century**_**, roughly translated) was the Trivia. And the whole duel isn't supposed to be funny. It wasn't in the actual variety show and it's not supposed to be here (unless I 'screwed up').**

**Note: by "Chess Game", I clearly didn't mean the chess game that involves a king and a queen. I meant the same game that appeared in some of the SE/SA chapters already.**

**Also note: V-Create is not Victini's unique move. Victini does not get V-Create on its own, as it is an Event Move. Rayquaza also gets V-Create via Event. As such, Victini's unique Move is Searing Shot. Similarly, Reshiram and Zekrom's unique Moves aren't Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt, but Blue Flare and Bolt Strike respectively. Victini gets Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt via Event, and Black and White Kyurem gets Fusion Bolt and Fusion Flare respectively via level up. Ignore this note if you don't know the mentioned Pokémon or Moves from BW and BW2.**

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**It's White's birthday and Platinum rented the entire Nimbasa City Amusement Park after its closing hours for the party. But something is definitely wrong…**


	12. Horror Park

**Check the Mechanics section in my profile for an update that may be enlightening/interesting.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Horror Park<p>

"Oh, this is so exciting!"

"Get ready to be surprised, Miss President. Our seniors are apparently known for throwing great birthday parties."

Black and White approached the large table set up in the center of Nimbasa City's amusement park. Platinum had rented the entire amusement park after its closing hours for the president's birthday party. It cost quite a bit and the birthday party was doubled as a welcoming party too. The other Dex Holders were finally welcoming Black and White into their _prestigious_ group.

Currently, every Dex Holder except Red, Green, and Sapphire were gathered at the table. Apparently, those three have yet to arrive from their training trip to Dragonspiral Tower.

White glanced at her watch/Xtransceiver. It was currently 6:30 pm. She hoped that the three late Dex Holders would arrive soon so the party could officially begin.

But the three missing Dex Holders didn't show up. After an hour of waiting, Blue tried calling the three.

"Well, it looks like they won't make it here," she said after hanging up.

"Why?" White asked.

"They said that something very urgent had come up. I don't know what they mean exactly, but it doesn't look like they're going to come."

"Oh… So… can we start the party now?"

Blue smiled. "Of course. Red, Green, and Sapphire won't know what they're missing, but they'll wish they were here when they hear how great this party is!"

"Alright!" Black exclaimed. "But… it's getting kind of dark…"

"That's okay. It only makes the games that much more interesting," Blue said dismissively. "The first game is a scavenger hunt! Yellow and I hid a total of 13 specially marked Pokéballs around the amusement park. The person who collects the most within an hour will be the winner. But you must return the Pokéball here to completely claim it. Which means, on the way here, you better make sure someone else doesn't steal it!"

"How are we going to find them in an hour?" White asked. "This place is kind of… big."

"We only hid them in specific locations," Yellow replied. She handed everyone a map of the amusement park. "We've circled the facilities where we hid the Pokéballs and wrote how many we hid there. This should help you find them quickly."

"Alright, start searching!" Blue yelled out abruptly.

White quickly ran towards the nearest circled facility. The nearest was actually the Ferris Wheel, but White ignored that one and went to the second nearest, the Merry Go Round. Black ran with her and didn't say anything about her choice, as he knew perfectly well that White didn't like being anywhere near the Ferris Wheel after a certain incident a year ago.

"Miss President, I'll help you find them," Black said as he followed White towards the Merry Go Round. "It's your birthday after all. I'll help you win."

White nodded and excitedly began her search. She had no idea what the other games will be about, but she had no doubt that this birthday would be the best one she ever had, where nothing could _possibly_ go wrong…

Half an hour later, Black and White approached the starting point of the scavenger hunt, with 3 of the 13 specially marked Pokéballs. They put it in the small bin labeled as 'White' to claim the 3 as the girl's. White was about to head towards another marked facility when Black noticed something odd.

"Miss President… where's Blue and Yellow?"

White took a looked around. "Huh… you're right. Where'd they go? Weren't they supposed to stay here?"

"Maybe they went to get something to eat," Black suggested.

"You're probably right. Well, come on, Black. Let's go look for more."

The two Unova Dex Holders were about to run towards the closest non-Ferris Wheel facility when they heard something… a terrified scream.

"That sounded like Blue," Black said with an alarmed look.

"Let's go find her," White said worriedly.

The two Unova Dex Holders ran towards the source of the scream, which turned out to be coming from… the Ghost House, also known as the House of Horror. Blue came from the exit, looking horror stricken but otherwise perfectly fine.

"Wow… I didn't think it was _that_ scary," she muttered as she took a shuddering breath.

White sighed in relief. "I was worried there for a second, you know," she said to Blue. "I thought something terrible happened."

"No, there's no chance of that," Blue said. But before she even finished, a loud, pained scream interrupted her. "That sounded like Crys…"

"Is there another scary facility here?" Black asked.

Blue shook her head. "No… That means…"

The three Dex Holders hastily ran towards the source of the scream, which was the rollercoaster. It wasn't in service, which meant there would be no reason to scream…

"Do you see her anywhere?" White asked as she quickly looked for her senior.

Blue looked up and instantly appeared horrified. She put a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. "Oh no… Crys…"

The two Unova Dex Holders looked up and froze. Crystal was hanging upside down from the rollercoaster rail by a long length of rope tied around her ankles, with blood dripping from her body. White put a hand over her mouth. Black quickly embraced her and gently spun her around so that she wouldn't see her senior's corpse hanging like that. But it seemed that Crystal wasn't the only victim…

"Gold…" White muttered in horror.

Black and Blue turned to look at what White was seeing and soon found Gold impaled by his billiard cue into a tall tree high above the ground.

"Wh – What is happening?" Blue muttered. "How did this happen?"

"We have to find the others right now and make sure nothing happens to them," Black said from the side.

White trembled but nodded. She looked at the map she was given. The closest marked facility from the rollercoaster was the movie theatre. But as the three Dex Holders ran, they came across another victim. Yellow was lying face down on the grass, beside a puddle of her own blood. Blue quickly ran over to check her friend's condition.

Before the Kanto Dex Holder could reach her fallen friend, a dark figure dropped from on top of a tree and began to choke her. White stood, frozen in fear, as the assailant proceeded to kill Blue. The Kanto Dex Holder tried to free herself, but to no avail. Black quickly rushed to assist but before he could do anything, the assailant jerked the arm choking Blue. The girl twitched once before going completely limp. White shrieked in terror, realizing that her senior's neck had been snapped.

The assailant made a run towards White and the girl quickly fled. Black followed so that he may protect her. Luckily, the assailant didn't pursue White for long and vanished into the shadows of trees.

White stopped running two minutes after ensuring that she wasn't being followed by the murderer. Before her legs could rest and her mind process what exactly happened, her eyes spotted something horrifying. She was standing in front of the Ferris Wheel and she could see that the very top car had a lot of blood inside and out. White squinted and could see Ruby's hat stuck in the door…

White put a hand over her mouth and resisted the urge to vomit. She clenched her eyes shut and doubled over in front of a grass patch in case she lost the fight. Black ran up to her and gently rubbed her on the back to help. Eventually, the girl won the internal struggle and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"W – We have to go find the others as soon as possible…"

Black nodded in agreement. "I know. So far, only Silver, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum are left."

White looked at her Xtransciever when it started to beep. She answered the call and Platinum's panicked voice came out. Since it was a (non-upgraded) Pokégear to Xtransciever call, the screen remained blank.

"H – Hello? Is anyone there?" the heiress asked, her voice trembling in fear.

"Yes. I'm here," White quickly answered. "What's happening over there?"

"S – Senior Silver is…" Platinum started. But it appeared that she was unable to finish her sentence and her sobs were heard from the Xtransciever. The heiress suddenly screamed. "Senior Emerald! Look out! No!"

"Platinum! We have to escape the amusement park!" Black yelled into White's Xtransciever. "Where are you? We'll find you and get out together."

"We… we are inside the Ghost House," Platinum sobbed out. "Diamond and Pearl are with me, but… senior Emerald…"

"What about the others?" came Pearl's voice.

"They're all gone," White whimpered out. "We're all that's left…"

"We're coming to get you," Black said. "Try to get out of the Ghost House and into the open as fast as y-"

"Diamond!" Platinum suddenly screamed.

"Miss Lady, we have to run!" came Pearl's voice.

Black and White quickly ran towards the Ghost House. For now, they had to rescue Platinum and Pearl, _then_ figure out what exactly happened to Diamond, Silver, and Emerald. When the two Unova Dex Holders reached the facility, they could hear Platinum's screams from the Xtransciever before the call abruptly ended. Black kicked the door open and the two Unova Dex Holders carefully peeked inside. The entrance room was brightly lit and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

The moment the two Dex Holders opened the door to the main scary path of the Ghost House, they found Pearl's bloodied body near the corner. As the two Unova Dex Holders wandered deeper inside to find Platinum, they found pieces of Emerald's fake arms littered around. White began to think that she should just flee and escape the amusement park, but she shook her head. She couldn't escape with Black alone when it was possible that Platinum was alive and hiding somewhere, even though the chances may be very slim. But if the heiress's body was found and it is confirmed that she was killed, Black and White would abandon everything and leave the amusement park.

White focused on her hearing. There was some slight commotion ahead in the hallway to the left, so it was definitely possible that Platinum was still alive. It was even possible that she was being killed right now…

Black and White quickly turned around the corner so that they may save their younger senior if she was being attacked. Despite the lack of light in the barely illuminated hallway, they could see Platinum's mangled body lying in a heap on the floor.

"We're too late… we're all that's left," White muttered in terror.

Suddenly, a figure clad in black clothes and wearing a skull mask seemingly appeared out of nowhere and dashed towards the two Unova Dex Holders.

"Miss President, run!" Black yelled as he forcefully pushed White away from the assailant. The girl did as told and ran as fast as she could manage while Black tried to stall the skull-masked assailant.

White headed towards the exit of the Ghost House as fast as she could manage. But just before she reached the exit, another skull mask wearing figure appeared from the exit and charged straight for her. White quickly spun around but another assailant was directly behind her. She could only scream in terror before she blacked out from shock.

White woke up an hour later due to someone dumping a bucket of cold water on her face. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up. She froze when she saw the 3 skull mask wearing assailants standing before her. The smallest one crouched in front of her and reached for the mask. The assailant raised it and White could see…

"… Sapphire?"

"Surprise, White!" the Hoenn Dex Holder said rather cheerfully.

White looked to the right and she could see a large table filled with all sorts of delicacies and had all the 'dead' Dex Holders gathered around, clapping and cheering. The other two skull masked figures took off their disguises and revealed themselves to be Red and Green.

"Surprise! Happy birthday!" the other Dex Holders (minus Black) yelled cheerfully.

Black approached White and helped her up to her feet. "Are you okay, Miss President?"

White couldn't reply as she was still way too stunned. Blue approached her and led her towards the party table. "Come now, White. Let's get your birthday party started!"

The president snapped out of her shock just enough to blurt out the first question that popped into her mind. "H – How… What…"

Blue chuckled a little. "Oh, that was nothing. Most of the bodies you saw from far away were mannequins. There were a few dolls here and there, and a couple of instances of my Ditty. The live action 'murders' were just acts. Genuine, first-class acts."

White let out a long groan. She glanced at all of her seniors in disbelief but was still a little relieved that none of her cruel seniors were dead. She looked over at Black who was slowly shaking his head.

"Did you know about this?"

"No. They only told me after they got me in the Ghost House," Black replied with a sigh.

"Why exactly did you do this?" White asked Blue in disbelief. "You almost gave me a heart attack… Why would you do this on my birthday?"

"Oh, a few reasons," Blue said with a smile. "I wanted to throw you a birthday party that you'll never forget. I also wanted to make it a surprise, but you already knew about it, and this was one way to throw a truly unexpected party." Her smile was replaced by a cold glare as she said her next sentence. "And consider this as a revenge for all the stuff you made me go through in _Dex Holders' Challenge_." The ice cold glare melted away and a bright smile formed on her lips. "But there is a bigger reason."

"And what's that?"

Blue cleared her throat and spoke in an announcement style. "White, as the newest Dex Holder, you are now a part of our group. As such, you are now an acceptable target for various pranks, jokes, and tricks by the Dex Holders and you will also be involved in all the shenanigans that we cause."

"In other words," Gold said from behind. "Get ready to have your world turned upside down multiple times a month."

White groaned again as she sat down on her designated seat. Black sat beside her and patted her shoulder.

"At least the scary part's over."

White sighed. "I guess…"

The enjoyable part of the party soon began and Blue pushed a small moving table filled with present boxes towards White.

The president opened Black's gift first. Her closest friend's gift was a ticket for a ride on the Royal Unova. White thanked Black for the expensive ticket. The ticket was for a ride in 3 days, and White couldn't wait. After all, the Royal Unova was a _very _relaxing and even romantic cruise.

White opened Platinum's birthday gift next. The gift was in the form of a very expensive looking scarf, which the president immediately wore. It felt very comfortable and warming too. She thanked her senior for the scarf but not for renting the amusement park. White wasn't quite sure whether she wanted to remember this particular birthday party, after all.

Diamond and Pearl's gifts were in the form of a birthday cake which would be served later, so White moved on to the Hoenn Dex Holders. Apparently the three had pitched in and got her a new Pokénav that had the detailed map of Unova along with all the other features of the device.

The Johto Dex Holders' gifts varied. Crystal's was a pair of winter gloves and socks that she had personally made, Gold's was an entry pass for the Pokéthlon near the National Park of Johto, and Silver's was a book (that White had wanted to read. Blue must've told him).

White started to open the Kanto Dex Holders' gift boxes expectantly. Yellow's box contained a compressed fishing rod that could extend in the same manner as Gold's billiard cue. Red and Green's birthday gift was… rather unique. It was an opportunity to teach both Unova Dex Holders the Ultimate Moves _without_ going through the physical nightmare known as the 3 Paths. White mentally decided to cash in the opportunity as soon as possible, before her two seniors changed their minds.

Finally, White stared at Blue's birthday gift box. She carefully tapped it and took cover behind Black, in case it exploded. But nothing happened to the box so with a slightly embarrassed look (and a questioning one from Black), White carefully opened the box. The moment she opened it, she backed away, in case something popped out. After the heart-attack inducing opening party, White didn't trust Blue. After the Kanto Dex Holder's declaration of shenanigans, she _really_ didn't trust her. Everything and anything could be pranks/traps in waiting, after all.

But since nothing happened at all, White looked into the box. She could see a disc of some sort, along with a disc player… She looked at her devious senior in question.

"That disc contains today's opening event in video format," Blue explained with a smile. "You'll be able to see what I saw after I pretended to be dead. You probably didn't notice, but there were hidden cameras all over the place to capture _everything_."

"Um…" White muttered, as she had no idea what to say to such a gift.

"Now you'll _never_ be able to forget tonight!" Blue added in an ominously cheerful way.

White groaned. "… Thanks…"

Soon, the birthday song and the feast started. The dessert was Diamond and Pearl's birthday gift. After the (very) delicious birthday cake, which had been created by the two Sinnoh Dex Holders while they were pretending to be in the Ghost House, everyone watched in a range of full amusement to complete boredom as Diamond and Pearl performed some of their comedy acts. During the laughter/cold stares, Black sat beside White after getting another slice of cake.

"Feeling better now?"

White nodded. "Yes. The food was delicious and the gifts were very nice. Although I hate to think what might happen to me later tonight. I don't think I'll be able to forget the horrors of earlier today."

"At least everything's over now, right Miss President?"

White sighed as she looked at Black. She smiled in a way that incorporated all of her emotions. Happiness, despair, relief, fear, etc. She pulled out her Pokédex and stared at it with a mix of pride and spite as she muttered her next sentence.

"No, I think we're just getting started…"

* * *

><p><strong>Try not to think of what the declaration of shenanigans means. Just consider it as the formal inauguration for White's entry into SR. White, along with Black, may now be in the center focus of SR chapters instead of having strictly minor roles like their previous appearances. To be clear, SR #010: Appointments had Blue in the main role and SR #011: The Other was focused on Platinum.<strong>

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**Red vs. Green! Their battling prowess is evenly matched. But what about their leading skills? Red and Green lead their team of Dex Holders against each other in a friendly competition to determine who the better leader is. Of course, when there is a competition, there is also a penalty…**


	13. Trapped

**That whole Red vs. Green thing isn't working out as planned, at all. As such, I've abandoned that particular chapter-in-progress for now and instead, started and finished a chapter suggested by a faithful reviewer of SA and a soon-to-be of SL. To comply with a request by a faithful reviewer of SR, I will upload a DHC chapter as SR #015.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Trapped<p>

June 1, Celadon City, 2 pm…

Blue hastily ran towards the Celadon Mansion, as she was kind of late. Platinum had rented the top floor for a large party celebrating the Kanto Dex Holder's birthday. Blue really appreciated her junior's thoughtfulness, especially considering how the heiress didn't do the same for Emerald's birthday the day before.

But unfortunately, it was raining _hard_. And it was very windy. Even with her umbrella/Ditto, Blue still ended up completely drenched thanks to the strong wind blowing rainwater horizontally.

Halfway to her destination, Blue returned her Ditto. The strong wind was making it hard for her to hold onto it, and she was drenched anyways. Blue stopped running and walked instead. There was no need to tire herself when she was drenched. And thanks to the water, her clothes were sticking to her skin very uncomfortably.

Blue soon arrived at the Celadon Mansion. In the lobby, she found Gold flirting with the lady at the reception desk.

"Gold, what are you doing?" Blue asked with a sigh as she tried her best to wipe the water off of her now-translucent and skintight white T-shirt. She crossed her arms as Gold turned to see her. The last thing she wanted was her black undergarments visible to _Gold_, of all people. "Do you _want_ me to tell Crys that you're flirting with random people again?"

Gold flinched. "N – No, ma'am!"

The goggled boy seemed to very briefly scan her head to toe. Blue narrowed her eyes.

"Gold," she said through clenched teeth. "You're just 1 warning away from me telling Crys _everything_."

Gold's eyes immediately focused on hers. "Sorry, ma'am!"

"Now then. What are you doing here and not upstairs?"

"I arrived a little late and…" Gold trailed off as he took a slight glance at the reception lady.

Blue smirked. "Ah, now I get it." With her arms still crossed, she headed towards the elevator. "Anyways, let's go then. People are waiting for us, after all. Well, they're waiting for _me_, but… whatever."

The two Dex Holders soon entered the elevator and headed upstairs. But a few seconds before the elevator reached the top floor, it suddenly stopped and all the lights shut off…

On the top floor, various Dex Holders were scattered around, waiting for Blue and Gold to arrive. Platinum was staring out the window, looking at all the lightning bolts flashing across the sky. Yellow was basically in Red's embrace, terrified by the bright flashes of lightning and deafening thunders. Diamond stared at the two Kanto Dex Holders and occasionally glanced at Platinum, wishing that the heiress was afraid of lightning and thunder as well, instead of being so damn interested in them.

Red moved Yellow over to the brightly lit section of the party room, directly below the lamp. Diamond went over to Platinum to at least stay with her, in case something does scare the girl. Soon, there was a devastatingly loud thunder. Platinum jumped in surprise and Diamond prepared for an embrace…

"Ah! That lightning was absolutely beautiful!" the heiress exclaimed as she observed the sky, completely oblivious to the shock and disappointment she had given Diamond. That devastatingly loud thunder had occurred almost at the same time as a massive lightning that had streaked across the sky.

Green sat nearby a light source as he read the news. He blinked once and in that instant, the entire room went dark. Green put the newspaper away as some of the Dex Holders yelled in surprise at the sudden blackout.

In the dark elevator a meter below the party floor, Gold and Blue glanced around, wondering what happened. Realizing that there was a blackout caused by the thunderstorm outside, the two Dex Holders groaned.

"I'm trapped in the elevator with Gold?!" Blue groaned out. "On my birthday?! Aw, this sucks!"

Gold sighed and tried to call Crystal on his Pokégear. Unfortunately, there was no signal inside the elevator…

Upstairs in the party room, Crystal tried to call Gold too. But the signal didn't reach the boy's Pokégear. At the same time, Silver tried to call Blue, but also to no avail. Realizing what happened, the two Johto Dex Holders both jumped to their feet.

"Ah! Gold's stuck with Blue in the elevator!" Crystal exclaimed.

"Oh, sh*t! Sis is stuck in the elevator with that flirty bastard!"

"Cut the chatter, people!" Green yelled over the several panicky voices of other Dex Holders. "Silver, Crystal, we are going to see if we can pry the elevator doors open to save Blue and Gold." He then turned to look at the Sinnoh and Unova Dex Holders gathered around. "You five, go see if you can fix the power failure. The rest of you, go find candles or flashlights and illuminate this place."

…

2:30 pm, 30 minutes since power failure…

…

Blue had her Ditto Transform into a coat, as she was starting to get cold. But there was nothing she could do about the darkness.

"Gold, do you think you can send out your Typhlosion in here?" she asked.

"Why?" came her junior's voice from the darkness.

"Well, it's _kind of_ dark in here, don't you think?"

Blue could hear Gold digging around in his bag. Within a couple of seconds, the elevator was brightly illuminated by a large flashlight.

"I don't think Explotaro is our only possible source of light," Gold said as he used his indestructible billiard cue and the flashlight to create a makeshift overhead lamp.

"… You had a flashlight all this time?" Blue said as she glared at Gold.

"Of course. It doesn't hurt to be prepared, right?"

Blue smirked. "Right. Of course." An awkward silence soon followed and the Kanto Dex Holder tried to break it. "So… Gold. What are you doing nowadays?"

Gold seemed to blush a little and began rubbing the back of his neck. "Well… I've been… trying to get Crys to go out with me."

"Really?"

"It hasn't gone anywhere though. Super Serious Gal still refuses every time."

Blue looked quite interested. She sat on the fancy carpeted elevator floor in front of Gold (who sat down as well) and looked at his eyes intently. "Can you tell me what you've been saying to her? Maybe I can help out."

Gold cleared his throat and began to tell his senior of his previous attempts at getting Crystal to go out on a date with him.

Upstairs, Silver's Feraligatr and Crystal's Xatu were trying to pry open the door to the elevator shaft. But apparently, the Celadon Mansion's elevator and every floor of the shaft has been refitted and reinforced with solid _military_ grade titanium and the doors themselves opened and closed with complex system of machines. No one really knew _why_ the mansion's elevators were upgraded like that, but as things stood, the doors appeared as if they could take a Giga Impact from a Snorlax and not even budge.

The two Johto Dex Holders returned their Pokémon and stared at the 50 cm thick door, wondering how they could possibly open it. Green watched his two juniors try all sorts of things before intervening.

"Why exactly are you two trying to force the door open this hastily?" he asked.

"Because sis is trapped with _Gold_ of all people!" Silver answered.

"Because Gold is trapped with _Blue_ of all people!" Crystal answered at the same time.

The two Johto Dex Holders glared at each other.

"What do you mean?!" Silver demanded first. "Are you saying that the problem of this situation is sis?!"

"What do _you_ mean?!" Crystal demanded back. "Are you suggesting that Gold is the problem here?!"

"Of course he is!"

"Why?!"

"Because Gold flirts with _everyone_," Silver said. "And given the thunderstorm outside, sis is probably drenched. And with Gold…" he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

"Gold doesn't flirt!" Crystal countered. "… Anymore, at any rate. Name 5 people he flirted with this year!"

"Jasmine in Olivine while waiting for a ship to Sinnoh," Silver started. "Candice in Snowpoint once he _got_ to Sinnoh, Skyla in Mistralton on the beginning of his tour around Unova, Elesa in Nimbasa in the middle of the tour, and… _Bugsy_ when he returned to Johto."

"Bugsy again?" Crystal muttered. She shook her head. "Whatever. Even I thought he was a girl when I saw him for the first time in a while. A – Anyways, the problem here is Blue. She used to make a _living_ by using her looks to lure people. Who knows what she's going to do?"

Both Johto Dex Holders glared at each other a little more before they asked Green for his opinion. The Viridian Gym Leader slowly shook his head.

"They're _both_ the problem," he muttered after a sigh. "Gold is a lecher who flirts with basically any decent looking girl, and even Bugsy on rare occasions. Blue is, was, and always will be the type of girl who uses her looks to get what she wants. If she wants to trick Gold or maybe even see him fluster, there's no telling what she might do. With those two, anything can happen. _Especially_ if they're completely isolated in a tight space with no chance of anyone seeing what they're doing."

The three Dex Holders stood in silence for a second before they all backed away from the elevator door. They sent out Charizard, Feraligatr, and Meganium and prepared to use all three Ultimate Moves on the door at once…

Back in the elevator, Gold had finished explaining his last failed attempt at asking Crystal out. Blue thought for a few seconds before she made a suggestion.

"How about you utilize her _jealousy_ to your advantage?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… if you were to ask a cute looking girl out for a date and she accepts, Crys would become jealous," Blue said. "Crys does care for you. She just won't admit it, even to herself."

Gold nodded. "Oh, I get it. I just have to use my… irresistible superior charms to attract some random girl in New Bark Town when Crys can see me."

Blue let out a short laugh. "Yeah. That's what you need to do. Alright, _Mr. Irresistible_, show me what you've got. If your pickup lines are lame or flat-out clichéd, you'll only make an ass of yourself in front of Crys. So let's hear your best-of-the-best pickup lines!"

Gold cleared his throat and prepared himself. He leaned over towards his seniors and whispered his favorite line into her ear. He stopped when Blue started to giggle.

"… What?"

"Gold, that… _sucked_," Blue said in between giggles. "_Mr. Irresistible_, huh? I expected better from you." She put on a serious look once she calmed down. "Okay. I'm going to pretend to be Crys, and you try your _other_ pickup lines. If I can't come up with a counter, then you can try it against some other girls."

"Okay, here goes…" Gold cleared his throat again. "If I could rearrange the letter system, I'd put 'u' and 'i' together."

Blue shuddered as she felt goose bumps form on her arms. "Well, if I could do the same, I'd leave everything as is. There's no reason for 'u' and 'i' to be together."

The two trapped Dex Holders continued for several minutes. Gold threw all the pickup lines he knew and Blue countered each one. Eventually, the Kanto Dex Holder put a stop to the series.

"Gold, let's stop this before I'm covered in goose bumps," Blue said as she shook her head. "Mr. _Resistible_, I think your best course of action is just… let the other girls come to you. Don't try to pick them up yourself."

"And how would I do that?" Gold asked.

"Well, don't you have any fan clubs? Red and Green have lots of them and I'm sure if you have one too, then the girls there would just die for a chance to be with you. And you can use those annoying girls _mercilessly_ to your advantage."

The two Dex Holders continued to discuss and thoroughly develop a plan to get Crystal, completely unaware that the Johto girl was trying her absolute best to free them.

…

Several hours later, 7 pm, 5 hours after power failure…

…

"Damn it, this is boring…" Gold muttered. "Hey, senior. Want to play a game?"

Blue snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her junior. "Hm? What kind of game?"

The goggled boy withdrew a deck of cards from his bag. "You name it."

"Alright then," Blue said as she turned so that she'd face her junior while sitting. "Do you have your wallet with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"The winner has to get _something_, right?"

"Well, if you have your wallet, then… let's do it!"

The card game (a modified variation poker, as it was decided) soon began. Blue looked at the 5 cards on the ground and the 5 cards in her hands. With the single ace on the ground and two in her hands… she had the match won. Gold revealed his set first.

"Alright. Victory is mine," Gold said as he set his cards down. "I have three aces, combined with the one on the ground, that's four!"

Blue looked surprised as she examined the cards. "Hey! How is it that you have three aces when there's one on the ground and I have two?!"

"What? That's impossible!" Gold yelled.

Blue stared at Gold's ace cards. She soon spotted something strange… "Hey!" she yelled as she picked up the odd card. She began to scratch the end with her fingernail and soon managed to peel off a layer, revealing… a 2 card. "I knew it! You were cheating!" She tossed away the fake ace peel and signaled Gold to pay up. "You cheated. So I win by default."

Gold grumbled put paid his senior a sum of 1000 PKD. He then noticed something. "Hey, wait! I only did that to one card. How come there are still 5 aces left?"

Blue flashed him a devious grin. She held up one of her ace cards in front of Gold. The face of the card started to _melt_ away and revealed a 5 card. The 'melt' of the ace card slid down to Blue's sleeve and fused into it.

"… Ditto?" Gold muttered. "So you cheated too! Give me my money back!"

"You were caught first. I still win by default," Blue said in a taunting manner.

Gold clenched his teeth but let the problem slide. There was no way he'd win an argument against Blue. The two Dex Holders continued playing. Gold attempted to cheat a little to gain some leverage but got caught every time. Blue cheated right back, but did it so subtly that she wasn't caught. In one game, Blue pretended sneeze while her Ditto swapped her crappiest card (a 2) with a King card on the ground. That way, while Blue's best card combination wouldn't change, Gold's would. And as a result, Blue won that round.

The two Dex Holders stopped playing once Gold ran out of cash in his wallet, two hours later. Once Gold returned his deck of cards, Blue returned her Ditto as she didn't need a coat anymore. Her clothes were dry and she was getting pretty hot. Now, there was exactly one thing the two Dex Holders could do to kill time: gossip/backbiting.

"So, Gold," Blue started. "Since we're completely alone and no one else can hear us, let's be honest. Who's your least favorite Dex Holder and why?"

Gold began to think. "Least favorite, huh? Hmm…" He soon made his decision. "Platinum."

"Oh? Why?" Blue asked, rather surprised by the pick.

"You're not going to… tell her, are you?" Gold asked. "I mean, if she hears, then she'll be offended and when that happens, senior Red might get angry. He's taking care of Platinum a lot these days so…"

"I understand. I'm not going to tell anyone. And you're not going to tell anyone about what I say either."

"Alright then. I just… don't really like her. It's not like I hate her, though. She's just too… serious. And super formal. I feel it's just hard to have a friendly conversation with her. Maybe I should call her Super Formal Gal."

"Well, I know that Platinum's too formal, but that's just the way she was raised," Blue said. "Besides, that formality has an advantage. When she's talking to her seniors, she's very polite and kind."

"That's true," Gold said with a nod. "But when her seniors say anything that offends her in the slightest, she's super offended. Crys gets pissed whenever Odd Boy and I pull a prank on her or make a joke about her, but she soon laughs it off and forgets about it. Whenever we do that to Platinum, she just gets hurt and occasionally even cries. And the next time we see her, she doesn't really say anything to us."

Blue nodded. "Yeah. Platinum does have that super sensitive side. On one hand, she gets really happy and enthusiastic if her seniors compliment her, but on the other hand, if we criticize her, she becomes very depressed and crestfallen."

"If she was to overcome that and become less sensitive, then I won't have anything against her. Like Wildchild Girl. If Odd Boy and I pull a prank on her or flat-out insult her, she gets really pissed, but doesn't hold anything against us." Gold thought to see if he had anything else against the heiress but he didn't. "So. Who's your least favorite, senior? Bossy Gal?"

"Who?"

"You know, that girl from Unova. … What's her name?"

Blue shook her head. "Gold… at least _try_ to remember all of your juniors' names. And no, White is not my least favorite. Sure, she made my life a living hell while on camera, but now that she's one of us… I'm over it. Actually, the Dex Holder I feel the most uncomfortable with is… Crys."

"Huh? Super Serious Gal? Why?"

"I guess it's because Crys is the only female Dex Holder who doesn't seem to appreciate me. She constantly tells me that my antics and way of thinking are _degrading_ and embarrassing, and from time to time, she says I'm shameless."

"Maybe Crys wasn't in a good mood at those times," Gold suggested. "Super Serious Gal isn't the kind of person who'd say things like that."

"Maybe she was. But she didn't apologize or anything afterwards, so… I don't know." Blue sighed and turned to look at the closed 50 cm thick solid titanium elevator door. "Do you think the others are trying to get us out, or what?"

Upstairs, all 13 Dex Holders gathered outside the scorched yet perfectly intact door. The Sinnoh and Unova Dex Holders have learned that the Celadon Mansion's circuitry had been fried by a lightning bolt and therefore fixing the problem was going to take a little while. And as Green, Silver, and Crystal found out, the solid titanium elevator door would not budge, even with the power of Blast Burn, Frenzy Plant, and Hydro Cannon (explosive effect suppressed by Crystal's Xatu's Psychic). The only way the Dex Holders could get past the titanium door was to simply remove it by destroying the walls, floor, and ceiling around the door. Which the Dex Holders were not going to do, as it was dangerous and they would get in serious trouble. All they could do was hope that the circuitry is fixed as soon as possible, or the solid titanium doors would be damaged enough to open.

…

June 2, 12 am, 10 hours after power failure…

…

Gold yawned as he stared at the elevator door. Blue stifled a yawn of her own and glanced at her junior.

"Gold, go to sleep. I'll stay awake in case the elevator starts moving again."

"Really? Aren't you tired too?"

"I am, but as your senior, I should take the duty of staying awake."

Gold thought for a second before he lied down on the small yet big enough carpeted floor. "Wake me in 5 hours and we'll swap roles," he said as he closed his eyes.

Blue smiled. "Thanks, Gold." She reached over to the flashlight hanging off of Gold's indestructible billiard cue and flipped it off.

She kind of regretted that decision, as it was _completely_ dark now. She couldn't see a damn thing. And with no Silph Scope (Blue didn't have her bag this time. She only had Ditto and a Pokégear), there was nothing she could do. The pitch black 'room' was starting to become scary… But Gold's constant snoring did remind her that she was not alone. So the experience wasn't _that_ scary.

…

5 hours later, 15 hours after power failure…

…

Blue activated the light on her Pokégear to check the time. Noticing that it was time for the 'shift' change, she tried to shake Gold awake. But the goggled boy kept snoring. So she tried something else. Blue reached up for the flashlight. After basically flailing her arms in the air for a while, her hand touched the flashlight and soon flicked it on. Now that she could see, she quietly separated the flashlight from the billiard cue. She kept the flashlight directly above the sleeping Gold's… _private_ parts and flicked it back off. She then simply dropped the flashlight and took a step backwards.

"Ohh… what… what the hell?" Gold groaned out in (admittedly hilarious) agony.

"Gold, it's been 5 hours since you fell asleep," Blue said after a yawn. She pretended to be as innocent as possible.

"Y – Yeah… alright…" Gold muttered as he slowly sat up. "Okay, I'm up. Senior, you can go to sleep now."

"Okay. Thanks." Blue sent out her Ditto again and got it to Transform into a complete sleeping bag + pillow set. "And Gold," she started after another yawn. "Don't try anything funny."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Gold replied.

"That's a lie, and we both know it."

"I know."

…

5 hours later, 10 am, 20 hours after power failure…

…

Blue woke up from her sleep when she heard a loud thud. She returned her Ditto and sat up. She then stretched her tired body. It's not every day that she's forced to sleep in an elevator…

"Senior? You awake?" came Gold's voice from directly beside.

"Yeah… What was that?"

"Don't know," Gold replied as he flicked the flashlight back on.

"Well, I hope that was our friends trying to break us out," Blue said with a sigh. She suddenly groaned. "Oh, I'm starving…"

Gold reached into his bag and took out a bag of cookies. "Well… this is all I have. Let's split it."

"Wow," Blue muttered. "You really are prepared… Then again, you're like Dia. You always have some kind of snack in your bag."

Gold ripped the bag open and set it on the floor between himself and his senior. Blue ate a cookie and savored the sweet snack. The loud thuds continued and became louder and louder as time passed. The noises continued for another hour and it sounded as if the other Dex Holders were _finally_ going to rescue the two trapped Dex Holders.

An idea formed in Blue's mind and she grinned. She looked over at Gold. "Hey, want to fluster the hell out of Crys?"

Gold grinned. "Always."

…

20 minutes later…

…

Crystal carefully lowered herself down the reinforced frame of the elevator shaft, onto the 'roof' of the stopped elevator. It took almost 24 hours straight for all the Dex Holders (working in shifts, of course) to break through the initial solid titanium doors. And to avoid repeating that process, the Johto Dex Holder dropped onto the roof so she could open the emergency hatch.

But when she did…

Crystal gasped in shock and horror. On the carpeted floor, she could see Blue and Gold lying next to each other under a blanket. On one side of the blanket, there was Gold's vest and hat. On the other, was Blue's… undergarments?

"GOLD!" Crystal screamed.

Underneath the layer of Ditto that had Transformed into a canvas (basically) that had the whole scene 'drawn', the real Blue and Gold had their hands over their mouths so that their laughs would not be heard. They could peek through little holes left by the Ditto to see Crystal's horrified expression. The two Dex Holders glanced at each other and gave each other a high five. Gold examined his hopefully soon-to-be girlfriend's expression and grinned.

"Someone should take a picture…"

* * *

><p><strong>Ending has been rushed quite a bit to meet a deadline I set for myself because of the plan of the next chapter. There may be miscellaneous errors here and there as a result. Point them out and they will be fixed as soon as possible, unless it was intentional.<strong>

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**Halloween special! Some Dex Holders are involved in a little… **_**accident**_** that alters their personalities! The remaining Dex Holders are baffled with their friends' sudden change, but there is a… **_**solution**_**. The idea has been suggested by the same faithful reviewer of SA and soon-to-be of SL as SR #013: Trapped. To be uploaded in October 31.**


	14. Halloween Special

**First Halloween Special as advertised. This idea has been suggested by a faithful reviewer of SA and a soon-to-be of SL, as mentioned.**

**There will also be a Christmas Special to be uploaded on December 25 (this one is my idea). And remember, for SR, don't think of the reasoning behind some of the events (like the reinforced military grade titanium plating on the elevators in the last chapter). Most of the questions that start with "Why" can be answered in SR by "Just because" or "Because it's funny."**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 14: Halloween Special<p>

October 27, 3 pm, Hearthome City, Sinnoh…

Green, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum waited in the rented out feast hall for the other Dex Holders to arrive. It was Platinum's birthday and the heiress was getting anxious, afraid that some of her seniors (and juniors) would not be able to attend.

On the large table set up in the middle of the feast hall, there was a pile of birthday present boxes stacked up. The stack was going to become much larger when the remaining Dex Holders arrived, and Platinum wished they would hurry it up.

From the kitchen, Diamond and Pearl entered, carrying several large trays filled with special cookies that the relaxed Dex Holder made for the occasion. The moment they set the trays on the dinner table, all the Dex Holders (minus Green) came close to have a taste.

Green silently groaned as all of the other Dex Holders started to chat louder and louder. It was getting increasingly difficult to focus on the news he was trying to read. He looked up from his newspaper when Platinum came close.

"Hey, senior… have a bite," she said as she held a cookie with one hand.

Green narrowed his eyes slightly and observed his junior's expression. Did Platinum just say "hey"? And is she presenting him a cookie with just _one hand_? Normally, given the girl's education, she would've presented him a cookie on a plate and with both hands, probably with a slight bow.

The Viridian Gym Leader took the cookie and was about to take a bite when he caught a whiff of something. He sniffed at the cookie and realized something.

'_Oh, no… This could have some complications…_' Green thought as he returned the cookie to Platinum. He then headed towards the kitchen to confirm his suspicion.

Just as Green disappeared into the kitchen, the entrance to the feast hall opened and the missing Dex Holders appeared. The moment they entered, they could see Diamond and Pearl performing a comedy act.

"Speaking of Pokémon!" Diamond started.

"Speaking of Pokémon~!" Pearl followed.

The late Dex Holders walked closer to the center of the feast hall but they stopped when the two Sinnoh Dex Holders' comedy act approached their 'classic' part where Diamond smacks Pearl on the back of the head… wait… what? They looked at the others to see if they noticed something wrong as well. _Crystal_ was laughing to the point of tears, while Blue and Gold remained perfectly silent. Normally, Gold would be laughing to tears while Crystal remained silent. Blue would giggle occasionally at Diamond and Pearl's comedy acts, but she always showed some reaction.

"… Is it just me, or is something different here?" Red asked as he looked at Yellow and the others who arrived late.

Yellow looked quite confused as she observed the unusual behaviors of the other Dex Holders. Emerald looked over at Ruby and Sapphire, who were busy bickering near the dinner table.

"Well, those two didn't seem to change at all," he commented.

Black and White looked over at their two Hoenn seniors and soon noticed something. "Actually," White started. "They did change."

Emerald observed his two friends (though he did not like acknowledging their friendship). It seemed that Sapphire was arguing about how her Pokémon needed to stay beautiful while Ruby argued that power was far more practical than beauty.

Emerald soon headed for the exit. "Alright. That's it. I'm out of here. This is just… too damn weird."

"Emerald!" Crystal called out. She quickly ran towards him and embraced him. "I'm glad you're here! Come on, enjoy the party!"

"Uh… what?!" Emerald yelled out as he looked at Crystal. "What happened to you?"

"You're too serious all the time!" Crystal said. "Come on, live a little!"

"Crys," Gold said from behind with a sigh. "Try to be a better role model. You're not setting a good example here."

Emerald looked back and forth between his two Johto seniors. "… THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Just then, Green came out of the kitchen, holding an empty bottle in his hand and a solemn expression on his face. He looked at the Dex Holders who arrived late and approached them.

"We have a big problem here."

Silver looked over at Blue, who was… reading the news? Right beside her was Platinum, who appeared to be trying to pull a prank on the Kanto Dex Holder.

"… Clearly…"

Soon, all the normal Dex Holders gathered around the table in the kitchen while all the 'crazed' Dex Holders were in the main room of the feast hall, doing… whatever.

"Okay, here's the situation," Green said as he cleared his throat. "I'm researching on the type of venom from Toxicroak and its possible uses in medicine. I put the raw venom in this bottle," he said as he looked at the empty bottle that was sitting on the center of the table. "I needed to keep it cool, so I kept it in the refrigerator. But because of its color, I think Diamond accidentally thought it for something else and used it when he made those cookies. The unusual behaviors of everyone else must be a consequence from eating those cookies."

"How do we counteract the venom's effects?" White asked.

Green crossed his arms and thought for a second. "This specific type of venom is neutralized by alcohol."

Red reached into his bag and withdrew two bottles of liquor. The other Dex Holders all stared at him in shock.

"… Red, are those…" Black muttered.

"Red… what the hell?" Green said as he looked back and forth between his friend and the two liquor bottles.

The Kanto champion rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well… You know that saying "Whatever happens in Nimbasa stays in Nimbasa"? It wasn't _entirely_ true this time. Let's just say that… this little happening _followed_ me." He still received accusing stares from his friends. "Hey, I only take a slight swig every now and then!"

Green shook his head. "Anyways… I'm not sure what would happen if someone drinks this while they're affected by the Toxicroak venom."

"… Let's try it on one person and see what happens," White suggested.

"Alright then, who do you suggest we try this on?" Green asked.

"I vote Blue," White said. Silver suddenly turned to glare at her and she visibly flinched. "I – I mean… Gold."

Black thought for a few seconds. "… Do we _need_ to revert all of the others back to normal? I mean… it's an interesting change, don't you think? And besides, some changes might be for the bet-" He was cut off by a loud yell from outside the kitchen.

"Oh, you _idiot_!" came _Platinum's_ voice.

"… That, we _need_ to change," Yellow muttered.

Black nodded in agreement. "Yeah…"

"… Platinum!" Red yelled.

"What?!" came the girl's annoyed voice.

"… Get over here for a second!" Red yelled again after a slight hesitation, taken aback by the HUGE changes in his junior.

Red poured some liquor into a tall glass cup and hid the two bottles. When the heiress came, he offered her the cup.

"What is this?" Platinum asked.

"Drink it. It's… uh… good for you," Red said partially truthfully.

"… No, I don't want to," the heiress said after taking a sniff.

Red rose to his feet and approached his junior, who was staring at him defiantly. She definitely needed to return to normal… Red took the cup and looked at the other Dex Holders for help. Black and White each grabbed onto Platinum's arm while Emerald used his Magic Hand Extensors to keep his junior's legs in place. That way, the heiress could not thrash around as Red forced her mouth to open.

"Sorry Platinum, but this is for your own good," Red said as he poured the alcohol into his junior's mouth.

The heiress tried to struggle and spit the alcohol out but Red had shut her mouth and pinched her nose so that she had no choice but to swallow. The moment she did, she shut her eyes in agony and struggled even harder. But then she suddenly stopped and went limp.

"… Platinum?" White called as she shook her younger senior.

Platinum soon snapped awake. She looked at Red with tired eyes and spoke.

"S – Senior? What… what happened?" she asked. Her voice was oddly slurred…

'_Uh oh… looks like I gave her a bit too much…_' Red thought as his junior started to hiccup. '_I guess a third of a bottle was too much…_' "Uh… how are you feeling?"

Platinum hiccupped again. "I – I feel… great!" She looked unsteady on her feet… She glanced out through the door to the kitchen and turned her blurred focus on Red. "N – Now if you will… excuse me, senior, I… I am going to see… Diamond…"

Red watched Platinum stumble out of the kitchen and sat down on his seat again. He took a swig from the open liquor bottle and received varying stares from the other Dex Holders. "… What?"

"Well, Red," Green started. "It appears that while you did force Platinum to return to normal, you made her drunk. So basically, you didn't help at all." Red took another swig. "Stop drinking!" Green snapped at him.

Just then, the normal Dex Holders heard a very loud laughter coming from the outside. Yellow peeked into the main room of the feast hall and returned to her seat.

"That was Platinum and Crystal," she said slowly. "… I think Platinum ate another cookie."

Green sighed. "We have no choice. Everyone, take a cup, fill to a quarter full with Red's… _drink_, and force one of the affected Dex Holders to drink it. Emerald, you'll need to take both Ruby and Sapphire, so take two cups."

"What about Platinum?" Red asked. "She's already kind of… drunk."

"… We'll figure something out after all those cookies are disposed of and everyone else returns to normal," Green replied.

The normal Dex Holders each took a cup and filled it accordingly. They soon headed towards all the affected Dex Holders and began carrying out their plan.

Green first approached Blue, who was reading the news in the corner of the feast hall. The Gym Leader hesitated a little, as he honestly wondered whether things would be better off with Blue staying like she was right now. But he decided that _all_ the Dex Holders needed to return to normal, so he went up to her.

"Blue," he said when he came close enough.

"Not now, Green. I'm busy," Blue said after a sigh without even looking up from the news.

'_Hm… I heard that somewhere before…_' "Here, drink this," Green said as he gave her the cup he was holding.

Blue sighed again and looked up at him. "What part of "I'm busy" did you not understand?"

Green rolled his eyes a little. '_Something tells me she's acting like… me._' "Just drink this."

Blue narrowed her eyes. "… Why?"

"Because you're not acting like yourself, and this will fix that."

"I'm perfectly fine the way I am, thank you," Blue said as she returned her focus back to the newspaper.

'_Damn it… If she's going to act like me, then I have to act like her!_' "Very well then. If you don't drink this, I'll have Golduck blast you with Hydro Pump. I just hope you don't have any electronics on you."

Blue sighed and shook her head. "Fine. I'll drink that if it means that you'll leave me alone."

'_Am I really that easy?_' "Here."

Blue took the cup and drank the liquor in one gulp. Green took the empty cup and watched her expression. She blinked a few times and shook her head. She smiled brightly (and a little mischievously) at Green.

"Whew!" she said in her usual cheerful tone. "It's getting hot here!" She then moved her arms to the end of her shirt, as if she was about to take it off.

"Blue, restrain yourself," Green said quickly and quietly. He was partially glad that Blue was back to normal-ish, but on the other hand… maybe her 'Green' persona was indeed better.

Blue grinned and patted him on the cheek. "Aw… you're cute when you're flustered."

Green rolled his eyes. He looked behind him looked on the dinner tables. '_Where's that damn cookie?_'

At the same time, Emerald approached Ruby and Sapphire, who were still bickering about beauty and power. The arguments were the same as all the others ones he had heard before, but… coming from the opposite Dex Holder. Sapphire saw him approach and ran up to him.

"Emerald! What do you think is most important? Beauty or barbaric power?"

Ruby ran up to him as well. "Emerald! Of course you _know_ that power and strength is more important than petty appearance!"

Emerald groaned. Talking to them was going to drive him insane, as always but in a different manner. He looked at Sapphire and gave her one of the cups. Her situation was more extreme, as "beauty" just didn't match her at all. Ruby was a very strong trainer (admittedly), so "power" matched him quite alright, but Sapphire…

"Drink this."

"Why?" Sapphire asked as she took the cup. "This smells quite bad."

"Just drink, damn you," Emerald said. "It'll make you… uh… _beautiful_."

In that instant, Sapphire chugged the liquor and Emerald gave the remaining cup to Ruby.

"I'm not drinking that!" Ruby yelled. "I don't want to end up like Sapphire! Obsessed with beauty? That's absurd!"

'_Yeah… Absurd…_' Emerald slightly shook his head. "This is a different drink. This will make you more powerful than you could _possibly_ imagine."

Ruby quickly drank the liquor and Emerald sighed in relief. His two friends both returned the empty cups and looked at each other.

"S – Sapphire," Ruby said in a slurred voice.

"What?" Sapphire asked in an equally slurred voice.

"Did… did I ever tell you that… you're barbaric?"

"Shut up… you sissy…"

'_That's better,_' Emerald thought as he steadily headed to return the empty cups to the kitchen.

"But… you are beautiful," Ruby said from behind.

"… Thanks, Ruby," came Sapphire's embarrassed voice.

'_And… I'm getting the hell out of here!_' Emerald thought as he increased his walking speed.

10 minutes later, Green stood in the center of the main room in the feast hall, looking at all of the other Dex Holders. He still had half of the liquor bottle full, and he was trying to see if there was anyone who needed a dose. So far, no one seemed to need the additional doses. Platinum, who had two separate doses of the 'spiked' cookies… appeared incredibly drunk. Apparently, Red gave her _even more_ to drink.

All the abnormal Dex Holders were back to normal, albeit being drunk. Red was sitting in the corner, drinking whatever was left in his liquor bottle. The others were scattered around, doing whatever they thought was nice in their distorted minds. Green was about to head back to his seat in the corner of the room (that Blue had occupied while she was 'crazy') to resume reading the news when he noticed something weird again.

Everyone else was playing utterly mindless games and acting quite odd, yet again. But this time, they weren't behaving completely differently from their actual personalities, but rather, drunk. Green looked at the Dex Holder who didn't eat the 'spiked' cookies, wondering why they were drunk. Then he saw the problem.

Each group of Dex Holders had a couple of bottles of empty liquor bottles beside them. Green quickly looked into the kitchen and saw the liquor cabinet completely empty. He glared at Red, who was probably the cause of the alcohol spreading. The Kanto champion saw him and raised his full liquor bottle as a salute/offer. He apparently had another one in his bag…

Green sighed and looked around the groups of Dex Holders to see if anyone was sober. Apparently he was the only one… Green groaned. There was no way he'd be able to fix this problem. He couldn't just leave either. If something bad happened, then it would be his fault for leaving a bunch of drunk Dex Holders all by themselves. He couldn't stay with them either, as their crazy laughs and mindless games would drive him insane. … There was one thing he could do…

Green sighed again and chugged the remaining liquor in his bottle.

* * *

><p><strong>This wasn't as easy as I thought. But I feel it was worth an attempt. The endingsolution is quite different than the suggestion.**

**I will try to upload the next chapter on the 1-year anniversary mark of SR (November 8).**

**Next up (DHC, per request):  
><strong>**It's midnight. The Dex Holders are preparing to go to sleep but then… the DHC Staff strikes! The Dex Holders' late-night mission: deliver a specially marked garbage bag and a letter to the house of one Dex Holder they had a problem with… They have 5 hours to do this task, but of course, the mission isn't as simple as it appears… Who will be the Dex Holder to end up with the most amount of garbage?**


	15. DHC 005 Garbage Bags

**SR is now 1 year old. Yay… … Moving on!**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: Dex Holders' Challenge Ep. 005: Garbage Bags<p>

Pallet Town, 12 am…

Blue was about to change into her nightgown when someone rang the doorbell. She looked at the clock and quickly headed downstairs, wondering who could be visiting at midnight. After straightening out her clothes, she opened the door and jumped in surprise upon seeing the visitor.

"… Oh, come on!" she groaned out. "Not you guys again!"

The visitors were her cameraman, lighting staff, and the new PD that always followed her around in _Dex Holders' Challenge_… Blue sighed again and looked at the new PD. This one… wasn't really _that_ good at his job, unlike White.

"I thought you said that we were done for the day!" Blue said rather angrily.

"Yes," the new PD replied. "That was yesterday. This is today. The date changed a couple of minutes ago."

Blue groaned again and put a hand to her face. "Alright… then what's the mission this time?" The new PD handed her the mission sheet and pointed next to the door, where there was a large garbage bag with a letter and an envelope resting on top. Blue narrowed her eyes at the 'equipment' before reading the mission sheet. "_The garbage bag contains various pieces of broken furniture and obsolete goods from the broadcast station in Celadon. Take the bag with a written letter to the Dex Holder you were most upset with this year and quietly place them in front of their doorstep. The garbage bags must be dealt with before 5 am, and the Dex Holder who ends up with the most garbage will receive a big penalty…_" Blue let out a long sigh. "Yesterday, you made us deliver a present box to the Dex Holder who we were the most thankful to this year. But…"

"It's a nice change of pace, don't you think?"

At the same time, all of the other Dex Holders have received the same mission. The reactions varied from Dex Holder to Dex Holder.

In New Bark Town, Gold stared the mission sheet. He looked at the PD and grinned.

"The most upset with, huh?" he muttered. "Well then, that's easy. I know the exact person I want to give this to."

In contrast, Platinum looked at the mission sheet and appeared very troubled. She looked at the PD in front of her.

"Um… do I _have_ to do this?" she asked. "I… cannot give this to anyone. I cannot do such a disrespectful act to any of my seniors, but I cannot do the same to my juniors either." She let out a long sigh as she thought of a solution. A thought suddenly occurred and her expression lightened. "But perhaps there is a way…"

In Cherrygrove City, White groaned as she read the mission sheet. She stared at her successor and sighed.

"You know, when I told you to be cruel and evil, I didn't mean be cruel and evil to me!" she said angrily. "And how come no one tried to discuss this with me?"

"We figured that this event should start off as a surprise," the new main PD replied. "If anyone knew about it, then the surprise would be ruined. That includes you, Miss President."

White sighed again. "What I'm worried about is… Everyone, _especially Blue_ would all want to give me their garbage bags… So I have to hurry. I have to give this to Blue and quickly come back and defend my home."

Back in Pallet Town, Blue zipped up her coat and readjusted the microphone on her shirt.

"Wait a second… If I'm not careful, there's going to be a pile of garbage right in front of my house…" she muttered. "Knowing everyone, they're not the type who'll just deliver the garbage and be done with it. If they find anything in front of their home, they're going to move that to someone else's house. Which means…" Blue groaned again upon realizing something through logical steps. "None of us can go back home until 5… Just because I finish delivering my garbage, it doesn't mean I'm done…" With another sigh, Blue started to walk away from her house with the garbage bag and letter in hand. She looked over to the right, to the general direction of Red's house. "I wonder who he's going to go to. He better not hold on to all of his garbage until the very last minute and dump them in my house…"

At Red's house, the Kanto champion began to write on the letter, as he knew exactly who we was going to.

"Who did you decide?" his PD asked.

"Platinum," Red answered.

"Why?"

"She gets offended too easily. I mean, this is just a variety show, you know? She should really learn to just laugh off some of the comments."

Red wrote the letter with his left hand so that no one could recognize his handwriting. And he purpose misspelled words and wrote "from Sapphire" on the bottom of the letter. Now that that was done, Red put the letter in his pocket and sent out his Pidgeot (borrowed from staff of _Dex Holders' Challenge_ for the sake of anonymity when seen from afar).

…

30 minutes later, Violet City…

…

Gold quietly hid behind trees and watched Crystal's house from the distance. The lights were off and there were no movements inside or outside. The girl probably went to complete her mission already. Seeing how the coast was clear, Gold dashed towards Crystal's house and placed the garbage bag and the letter in front of her doorstep. He laughed quietly at a job well done and quickly headed back home with his Pidgeot. However, what he didn't know was that… Crystal and Emerald have already dropped their garbage bags in front of his house…

When Gold arrived home 30 minutes later, he saw the two garbage bags right in front of his house. Surprised that someone dropped off their garbage in front of his house already, he quickly read the letters. The first one was clearly written by Crystal, as Gold recognized her computer-print-style neat handwriting. The letter was coldheartedly short. It was clear that Crystal didn't put much thought or effort into writing the letter.

_Gold, treat your juniors nicer than you are now. You have no idea how many times some of our juniors came to me for comfort because of you._

Gold put the first letter away and opened the second one. This was… clearly from Emerald, given the messy-ass handwriting. And this letter was even shorter than Crystal's.

_What Crystal said._

'_So some of my juniors told on me, huh?_' Gold thought to himself as he put the second letter away. '_They can't tell the difference between me being cruel and tough love? I'll show them!_' He quickly ran into his house. Since he expected some more of his juniors to come and deliver garbage, he was going to have to defend his home. And given how it was really dark outside (cloudy skies, 1 in the morning), it was going to be fun and easy to scare them senseless.

Within 10 minutes, Gold came back outside, with a skull mask on, a pair of white gloves, and a pitch black hooded robe. He was also carrying a hockey stick that had been painted over to look… different. The blade part was painted completely white while the rest was black. With a grin, Gold hid in the shadows of the nearest group of trees. Not a minute after he did so, he spotted a Dex Holder quietly sneaking towards his house. He squinted and realized that his unwanted guest was Sapphire.

"Time to get to work," he muttered as he began stretching his arms and legs.

Sapphire carefully and quietly snuck up to her senior's house, looking around every now and then to make sure Gold wasn't nearby. She stifled her laughter upon seeing two garbage bags already present. She was about to add hers to the pile when she heard leaves rustling and twigs snapping from behind. She quickly spun around and gasped in terror upon seeing the robe wearing skeleton running after her with a scythe in hand.

Sapphire tried to flee but tripped over her own feet in panic. She looked at the skeletal figure and realized then that the scythe was actually a hockey stick. But it was still scary! The figure swung the hockey stick and Sapphire quickly caught it. The figure then reached into its robe and took out a billiard cue.

"G – Gold! Wait!" Sapphire cried out as her senior was about to whack her with his indestructible billiard cue.

"Take your garbage bags _and_ both of mine, and get out of here!" Gold ordered.

"Yours too? But… why?"

Gold growled menacingly and prepared to hit his junior with the indestructible cue. "You have 10 seconds to do so."

"Okay! Okay!" Sapphire quickly yelled.

Since Gold was blocking the path to her borrowed Pidgeot (her only means of escape), Sapphire had no choice but to do as her senior ordered. Once the girl left with all 3 garbage bags, Gold returned to his post in the shadows of the trees. But his night was far from over…

On her way back home, Sapphire passed Crystal, who was on her way to re-deliver her garbage bag to Gold.

"Sapphire?" Crystal called as she got her borrowed Pidgeot to stop.

"Oh… hi, Crystal," Sapphire said with a friendly wave. "Are you going to Gold?"

"Yeah," Crystal said through clenched teeth. "I already went to him, but it seems that that jerk came to me at the same time. So I'm going back."

"Then… want to deliver together?" Sapphire suggested. "He forced me to take the two garbage bags in front of his house when he kicked me out."

"Alright, sure. I'll lure him out and when I have him distracted, you go and deliver the garbage bags."

The two female Dex Holders headed towards Gold's house, with Crystal in the lead. Sapphire grinned in a sinister way as she followed her senior. Was she plotting something?

Meanwhile, in Cerulean City, Red arrived at Platinum's apartment. The moment he approached the elevator, he ran into the heiress, who was just about to leave. She appeared very surprised and even hurt upon seeing her closest senior at her place.

"… Senior?" she muttered in shock. "A – Are you here to… give your garbage to… me?"

"Uh…" Red muttered. He hadn't planned on running into Platinum, and as such, he had no idea how to respond. "…"

Platinum dropped to her knees and started to cry. Red panicked and knelt beside her. He tried to comfort her, but to no avail.

"Senior, how could you?" the heiress cried out.

"I'm really sorry, Platinum," Red said. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll give this to someone else."

Just as Red looked around to see if any of the following DHC staff had any ideas, Platinum grabbed Red's garbage bag and ran out of the apartment building.

"Diamond! Pearl! Now!" she yelled the moment she exited the door.

Red snapped out of his shock and tried to run after his junior but Diamond and Pearl popped out of their hiding places and kept the door firmly shut. Platinum turned to look at her senior through the transparent door to the apartment. She grinned at him and bowed slightly in apology. There were no traces of tears at all on her face…

"I am terribly sorry, senior," she said. "But there are only two major aspects to a variety show: Revenge and Betrayal."

Red simply stared at his junior, simply struck speechless that she had completely tricked him. So she faked those tears? Damn Blue… she taught Platinum too well… Once Platinum and her borrowed Pidgeot (that already had all the garbage bags of the Sinnoh Dex Holders on it) disappeared from sight, Diamond and Pearl opened the doors. Red glared at them as he exited. He got onto the borrowed Pidgeot of his own and headed back home as fast as he could. There was no telling where the unbelievably treacherous heiress was going.

Meanwhile, back in New Bark Town, Gold watched from his hiding place as Crystal slowly approached his house. But oddly, the girl wasn't carrying any garbage bags… But Gold still charged straight for her anyways.

Crystal shrieked in surprise when she saw him dashing towards her but soon regained composure. She soon recognized him to be Gold so she stomped up towards him.

"Gold! What's your problem?!" she demanded. "Why did you throw your garbage bag at _my_ house?!"

"I can say the same to you!" Gold yelled. "You threw your garbage at my house! And Odd Boy too!"

As the two Johto Dex Holders argued, Sapphire watched from above. When the timing was right, she was going to deliver all four garbage bags to Gold's house and bail out. But…

"See you later, Crystal!" Sapphire yelled from high above.

The two Johto Dex Holders looked up and Crystal's mouth opened in shock when she saw Sapphire heading towards Violet City… Gold burst into laughter.

"Crys! You got betrayed!"

"Oh, that little punk!" Crystal yelled out. She tried to run towards her borrowed Pidgeot but Gold stopped her. "Let go!"

"No! Come on, let's talk some more!"

Sapphire headed towards Violet City, but once New Bark Town was out of sight range, she changed directions. Crystal's house was probably defended by Emerald, so instead… Sapphire headed towards Pallet Town. She had some issues leftover against Blue for her treachery in the second recording of DHC…

…

30 minutes later…

…

Platinum was passing Viridian City when she saw Yellow waiting for her. The heiress got her borrowed Pidgeot to stop.

"Hello, senior," she said with a polite bow to Yellow.

"Hi, Platinum," Yellow said with a cheerful smile. "Where are you going?"

"I am going to New Bark Town to deliver the garbage to senior Gold," Platinum replied honestly.

"Why don't you just give me the garbage?" Yellow asked. "Because I'll be going over to Gold's house as well."

"Um… I apologize, but I am suspicious that you will discard your garbage at my house if I agree," the heiress said nervously.

Yellow maintained her cheerful smile but extended her hand towards Platinum. The Kanto Dex Holder shook her hand and in that instant, the heiress felt her borrowed Pidgeot shaking tremendously.

"Are you doubting my word?" Yellow asked ominously.

"N – No, senior!" Platinum said hastily, clearly frightened by her senior's telekinetic powers.

"Good." Yellow then used her powers to take her juniors 4 garbage bags and put them on her own borrowed Pidgeot. "Well then, you should go back home."

Platinum bowed to her senior and quickly headed back home. Out of all her Kanto seniors, Yellow had been the least terrifying. But now… she was the worst one.

Yellow soon returned home and looked at the pile of garbage bags she had gathered. Along with the one she started with, Silver had dropped one off (for torturing Blue with telekinetic powers), and with the 4 she forcefully took from Platinum, she now had 6 out of a total of 15.

…

Several minutes later, 2 am…

…

As Yellow waited around her house, she could see Blue slowly walking closer with several garbage bags in her hands. She seemed to be heading towards her house, so Yellow came out to intercept.

"Ah! Y – Yellow!" Blue exclaimed nervously. "I didn't know you were home!"

"Hi, Blue," Yellow said with an ominous smile. "What do you have there?"

"Just some garbage our jerk companions dropped off at my place," Blue said. "Apart from my own, Black and White dropped one off each, Green dropped one too, Ruby dropped one off because I kind of made him pay for that hotel a couple of months ago, and… someone dropped _four_."

Yellow started to laugh. "So you have _nine_? That's amazing, Blue."

"I'm not sure 'amazing' is the word I'd use," Blue said with a sigh.

Yellow's expression suddenly turned stone cold. "So. You're here to drop all 9 at my place, huh?"

"N – No," Blue quickly lied. Her voice was shaking as she knew that she was doomed.

Yellow extended her hands forward and using her telekinetic powers, lifted Blue off of her feet. "Liar!" she yelled as she flipped her friend in mid air.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Blue screamed out. "Please let me go!"

"Well… since you said 'please'…"

Her 'monstrous' friend grinned and stopped flipping her around. Blue simply 'stood' in midair, completely dazed. Yellow took the time to remove all 9 garbage bags from Blue. She then let go of Blue and she hit the ground hard.

"Ow…" Blue groaned as she put a hand on her behind. "Um… if I may ask," she started super politely. "What are you going to do?"

Yellow grinned as she used one hand to telekinetically lift up all 15 garbage bags and used the other to force life Blue's borrowed Pidgeot in the air as well. "Well, let's just say that I have all 15 garbage bags here. I could _bomb_ the house of any Dex Holder I want."

Blue gulped nervously as Yellow got onto her own borrowed Pidgeot. "Um… and who would that be?"

Yellow kept Blue's Pidgeot and all 15 garbage bags in the air and got her own Pidgeot to slowly rise to the air. She looked down at her friend with a sinister look. "Follow me to find out."

Blue watched in horror as her dastardly friend headed south, towards Pallet Town. "Oh, no… No, no, no… No, no, no, no, no!"

Blue hastily followed her friend as fast as she could run. Yellow was taunting her for sure, as her Pidgeot wasn't going at top speed. The Pidgeot's speed was just higher than Blue's top running speed. But Blue couldn't slow down, in the fear that Yellow would speed up and drop all 15 garbage bags at her house.

Even after _two and a half hours_, Yellow was _still_ on her way towards Pallet Town. Blue was still following from far below, absolutely exhausted. Yellow watched from above as Blue started to slow down more and more. The brunette eventually stopped running entirely and dropped to the ground. She lay face up on the ground and tried to catch her breath.

"I – I can't run anymore!" Blue gasped out as she put her hands over her pounding heart. She looked at the DHC staff who were lying on the ground as well, as they had to run. "Why do we have to run so hard at dawn?!" Blue demanded at the PD. She looked at her cameraman who wasn't doing his job properly. His camera was pointing at the ground as he was way too tired. "Hey!" Blue yelled. "Keep your camera pointed at me at all times! What's wrong with you?!"

Blue looked at Yellow who was still directly over her. But to her surprise, Yellow got her borrowed Pidgeot to speed up to maximum and headed… west? Blue then realized that her evil friend had played with her completely. The blonde never intended to go to Pallet Town at all…

"Yellow…" Blue muttered at the camera (that was finally pointing at her). "…What did I ever do to you?!"

Yellow arrived at Cherrygrove City exactly two minutes before 5 am. And the moment she entered the city's boundaries, she spotted Black and White patrolling around. The two Unova Dex Holders saw Yellow and her garbage _bomb_ and instantly ran towards their homes. But the Kanto Dex Holder wasn't going to let them defend their homes so easily… Yellow relinquished control over Blue's Pidgeot and used her free hand to force White to trip. The moment the president hit the ground, Yellow forced Black to trip immediately afterwards.

"Ow, my knees…" White groaned out. "Yellow! No! Please!" she begged at her senior who was flying straight towards her apartment building. Black was living in the same apartment building, so both Unova Dex Holders had to hurry.

Unfortunately, when Black and White arrived at their apartment, it was 5:04 am. Yellow would have successfully delivered the garbage 'bomb' by then, and the Unova Dex Holders had to deal with the results. They could only hope that the garbage bomb was not in front of their particular home.

The two Dex Holders entered the elevator together and Black stepped off at his floor. White continued until she got off at her floor. The two Dex Holders slowly headed towards their respective homes and turned the corner to look at their hallway.

Black peeked around the corner and saw his door at the far end. In front of the door, he found… absolutely nothing.

"Yes!" Black yelled as he jumped in joy. Then, realizing that it was past 5 am, he instantly became quiet and bowed at the camera apologetically.

Directly above, White turned the corner and instantly froze upon seeing the 15 garbage bags piled up in front of her door. She grabbed the collar of the new main PD and furiously shook him.

"I told you this would happen, didn't I?!"

"Uh…" the new main PD started nervously. "This garbage has to be taken to Celadon City for proper waste management."

White groaned again and put a hand to her face. "This is… just too much…"

She sadly approached the garbage pile and picked up the letters. Not all 15 were there, but there was still enough. She opened the first one and sighed.

_I just don't like you._

"Blue…" White muttered. She recognized her senior's handwriting. But in truth, it was _Platinum_ who wrote that letter. She simply forged her senior's handwriting to frame her… But White didn't know and promised revenge. She opened the next one.

_I'm really glad that you're not the main PD of the show anymore. Now we can have our revenge._

"This one's from Yellow…" White said with a sigh. This time, she was correct. Even more depressed than before, she continued to read all of the other letters.

"Do you want to know about the penalty?" the new main PD asked.

White glared at him. "… What? There's even a _penalty_?"

"Of course. It was on the mission card, remember?"

White slapped a hand on her forehead. "Oh… right… What's the penalty?"

"The other Dex Holders are going to gather and discuss your penalty. They're going to decide, what, when, where, and how you're going to do the penalty mission. For example, you can get a mission where you have to walk to Olivine City, on your birthday, from New Bark Town, and on one foot."

White let out a long sigh. She looked at the DHC staff and smiled rather bitterly. "Well… at least you guys will be there with me, suffering the similar fate."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Black is not the only one who calls White as "Miss President". Black addresses her the same way as all of her other employees do. So it's not a nickname or a unique call name.<strong>

**This chapter is one of the main reasons behind the Dex Holder rearrangement into Kanto/Johto. Kind of hard to reenact the existing variety show event if… the members' houses are over two days apart by ship.**

**Next up (non-DHC, part of a multi-chapter series, NOT MEANT TO BE FUNNY):  
><strong>**All 15 Dex Holders are having a vacation on the Resort Area of Sinnoh. But when a large aircraft suddenly crashes near Stark Mountain, the Dex Holders go to investigate. But their decision could be the worst one they have ever made…**


	16. Containment Part 1

**Lightning-fast update (two chapters in two consecutive days? That's madness!) because I'm really curious as to see how this chapter will be received.**

**This is something I felt like making for a while. Beware, as this chapter and its series are NOT meant to be funny at all. It is expected to be 3 chapters long, and it will last from SR #016 until SR #018.**

**Warning: this series contains significant amount of death, fate worse than death, weapons, blood, gruesome content (I guess), and some minor swearing.**

**Clothing Style (for those who prefer imagining the scenes):  
><strong>**Red, Green, Blue: FireRed/LeafGreen attire.  
><strong>**Yellow: … she only ever had 1 attire in all of her appearances. So… that one.  
><strong>**Gold, Silver: HeartGold/SoulSilver attire.  
><strong>**Crystal: Gold/Silver/Crystal attire.  
><strong>**Ruby, Sapphire: Emerald attire.  
><strong>**Emerald: … same deal as Yellow.  
><strong>**Diamond, Pearl, Platinum: Diamond/Pearl attire.  
><strong>**Black, White: Black2/White2 attire. I am making a blind prediction about these two.**

**Pairings: same as all of S-EARL. Red & Yellow (kind of one sided), Green & Blue, Gold & Crystal, Ruby & Sapphire, Diamond & Platinum, Black & White.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: Containment Part 1<p>

April 30, 1 pm, Resort Area, Sinnoh…

Crystal stretched and leaned back against her chair in front of Platinum's personal villa, relaxing in the warm late-spring sunlight. She looked to her left where all the male Dex Holders were playing games (except for Green, who was reading the news as always). To her right, all the female Dex Holders were relaxing in the sunlight, enjoying the calm breeze in the peaceful villa. The Sinnoh Dex Holders were preparing for the party, as always.

Crystal was there in the Resort Area for two reasons. One, Platinum was (once again) throwing her birthday party there, and two, Crystal had never been to her junior's personal villa.

Before long, the official party started. Diamond and Pearl pulled out a moving table with a large birthday cake, sufficient for all 15 Dex Holders to enjoy. Crystal thanked her two juniors for the wonderful cake and blew out the candles.

An hour later, as the Dex Holders scattered once again to enjoy the calm and peaceful atmosphere. Crystal had resumed her previous position on her chair and Gold was sitting beside her, trying to convince her to go on a date with him.

'_Mmm… I'm in a good mood. Maybe I'll say yes,_' she thought as she looked at Gold. He was looking at her expectantly, hoping that this attempt would be successful. '_Oh, what the hell._' She gave him a warm smiled and slowly nodded. "Alright Gold. I'll give it a try."

"Alright! Thanks, Crys. You won't regret it, I promise!"

Crystal watched him jump in the air and slowly closed her eyes. '_Well… I guess he is pretty good looking. Maybe it won't be as bad as I thought._' She let out a sigh of content and opened her eyes again. '_Ah, this is turning out to be my best birthday ev-_'

Suddenly, the entire villa and the ground seemed to shake violently. Crystal quickly sat up and looked around, wondering if it was an earthquake. Some of the Dex Holders lost balance and fell while the others quickly crouched down. Just then, a massive shadow was cast over the entire villa as something large flew directly overhead. Crystal looked up and saw a giant burning aircraft rapidly losing altitude as it flew north.

As several Dex Holders watched it, the ship soon hit the ground around Route 228 with a massive thud. The Dex Holders all rose to their feet and looked at the direction of the ship, wondering what it was.

"What was that?" Blue muttered. "It looked like a giant aircraft. Where did it come from?"

"And why was it so damaged?" White asked.

"Well, let's go and take a look," Gold suggested.

"I don't know," White said as she looked at her senior. "Something tells me that we shouldn't go near it."

"Oh, come on. Show some courage!" Sapphire said as she clenched her fists. "It's worth taking a look."

Before long, all 15 Dex Holders were on their way towards the crash site. White still felt bad about the whole expedition, but remained silent. There was no point in making herself sound like a coward to her seniors.

Once the Dex Holders passed the short Route 229 and entered Route 228, they could see the carnage caused by the wreckage. It appeared that the ship had broken into many pieces before impact. The lower half of the ship was on Route 228 while the front half appeared to reach as far as Stark Mountain. The 15 Dex Holders approached the biggest intact piece of the ship.

"Wait," Sapphire said when she came close to the wreckage. "… What's that smell?" The other Dex Holders stopped and sniffed at the air. "That stench is just… awful…"

"I think I smell it too," Blue said as she pinched her nose. "It almost smells as if someone died and no one noticed for weeks."

"Did you hear that?!" Sapphire said abruptly as she crouched down to her most mobile state. "It sounded like a growl…"

As the Dex Holders continued to investigate the odd ship remains, something really loud was coming closer from the sky. Sapphire looked up first and the other Dex Holders did as well. The falling object came closer and closer and became louder as a result. The object slammed into the ground a few meters away from the Dex Holders with an earth-shaking thud.

"What is that?" Gold asked as he slowly walked closer. Crystal followed him, as she was equally curious.

The object was fairly large, appeared to be a giant metal casing of sort, with rocket propulsion system on the bottom so that the metal object doesn't get destroyed upon impact or leave a giant crater. Was it a locker of some sort? A physical storage casing?

With a loud hiss, the object started to vent. Crystal jumped in surprise and Gold quickly moved in front of her, just in case. He had to look good in front of Crystal, otherwise she wasn't going to go out with him anytime soon. The object in front suddenly opened and a figure completely clad in black stepped out. The figure looked back into the metallic pod it came from and took out several objects. The figure put one small object to its right leg, one larger object on its back, and carried another one in its arms.

The figure then looked at the Dex Holders and approached them. When it came closer, the Dex Holders could see that it was carrying a rifle or some sort in its arms.

"Who are you, and why are you carrying that?" Gold asked as he stood in a protective stance, covering Crystal.

The armed figure ignored him and looked at the other Dex Holders. The figure looked at White intently.

"… You look familiar," the figure muttered, his voice heard through a speaker of sorts on the helmet.

White looked slightly frightened and Black stepped in front of her. "Y – You know who I am?"

"Yeah. My sister participated in one of the projects on your company," said the trooper. "She used my Espeon… well, it's hers now… for a movie last year."

White thought for a few seconds. "Oh, now I remember. Sora, right? She told me a lot about you."

"You know this guy, Miss President?" Black asked.

"Sort of. We've met once, but he didn't have this… um… _suit_ on," White answered. "According to Sora, he's an ODST."

"A what?" Black asked.

"Orbital Drop Shock Trooper," the president answered. "That… explains a lot, don't you think?" She looked at the trooper. "Helljumpers, right?"

The trooper nodded. "Feet first into hell."

White pointed at the metal pod in which he came from. "So that's your SOEIV?"

"Yeah," the trooper answered. "When I get back to _Cerulean Sky_, I'll get another one for my next drop."

"SOEIV?" Diamond whispered to Platinum.

"Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle," the heiress whispered back. "I have heard of these from the news."

"Sora told me that her brother was conscripted in the military when he was 7," White explained to the other Dex Holders. "But she never told me why… Or his name, for that matter."

"Better that way," said the trooper. He looked at the crashed ship and scanned the area. "Well, you guys should probably get out of here. Police are going to be locking this Route and the next one so no one can get near this ship. Additional soldiers will be posted around the wreckage in case anything happens and you wouldn't want to appear suspicious."

The Dex Holders did as told by the trooper and headed back towards the Resort Area. Though they were a little concerned about the crashed vessel, they figured that if the military was getting involved, then whatever the situation was, it would be under control.

…

Several hours later, 9 pm…

…

The Dex Holders continued with Crystal's birthday party. This time, the party involved the swimming pool and a hot tub. Even though it was late spring, around nighttime, the air started to become cool and thus, the hot tubs were extremely enjoyable. But not everyone was having fun. White quietly approached Black in the swimming pool.

"Black," she started quietly. "I need to talk to you."

Black took a look around to make sure that no other Dex Holder was nearby. "What's wrong, Miss President?"

"I don't know why, but nowadays, my heart occasionally beats hard and fast, and I feel as if I'm going to die…"

"Wh – what?" Black muttered in shock. "You should go to a hospital, Miss President."

White looked quite frightened. "I did a few times, but the doctors don't know what's happening. And especially today, with that crashed ship, I think something terrible is going to happen to me. And… in case that does happen, I just want you to know that I love you."

Black gently kissed her on the lips. "I know, Miss President. I love you too. But listen to me. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. I promise. I'll make sure of it."

Before he even finished, a series of loud screams and gunshots echoed from Route 229. White looked around fearfully as her heart started to beat harder and faster again. Black quickly pulled her out of the swimming pool and into the villa. The other Dex Holders entered the villa shortly after and one by one, they changed back to their regular clothes and packed up. It was clear that something very dangerous was happening.

"Lady, what should we do?" Diamond asked Platinum once the heiress had finished changing and exited the washroom.

"We must cross Route 229 and get to Route 230. We will take a ferry to the Fight Area where we will take the ship to Sinnoh mainland," Platinum replied.

Once all the Dex Holders were ready, they quickly exited and locked the villa before heading towards Route 229. White held onto Black's hand tight and didn't let go. While the Dex Holders approached Route 229, the gunshots and screams continued. But they were able to reach Route 230 and the harbor without incident. There was still one ferry docked on the harbor and the Dex Holders rushed over.

But the moment they were about to board, a bullet whizzed past the leading Dex Holder's head. The Dex Holders froze and looked at the ferry and realized that there was someone on it.

"Stay back! Stay back!" the man cried frantically. "You're not turning me into one of those things! I'll blow your brains out! Get away from me!" The Dex Holders backed away as the insane man fired another shot in the air while screaming. "Ahhh! AHHHHH! Don't touch me, you freaks!" the man yelled again. "I won't be like you, I'll die first! Find your own hiding place! The monsters are everywhere!" The man exhibited a drastic change in emotions as he suddenly started to sob. "Monsters… I don't want to be like them. Please… please, no, no…" He started to scream again. "Just leave me alone!"

The crazed man started the ferry on his own while keeping his pistol aimed at the Dex Holders. The ferry soon left the harbor and the Dex Holders could only stare in despair as their only way across Route 230 was getting farther away. But not a minute after leaving the harbor, a rocket was fired from the forests to the side of the water and destroyed the ferry.

"What… What do we do?" White muttered in terror.

Green sighed. "We have to go around the long way. We'll have to go up to Route 228, go through Route 226 and into the Survival Area. Then we have to go through Route 225 to get to the Fight Area. We have no other choice."

Blue looked up at the sky. In the cloudless night sky, there were lots of stars visible. But some of the stars were getting bigger and bigger… It took her a second to realize that those 'stars' were actually drop pods.

"Maybe we should go to them," she said as she pointed at the SOEIVs.

The Dex Holders soon headed towards Route 229, where the pods were landing. The shooting and screaming had calmed down in the route, and there were quite a few dead bodies lying here and there. The female Dex Holders tried their best to avoid looking at the bodies. The male Dex Holders looked around to see if there were any survivors so that they may find out what was happening. There was one survivor, but…

Gold approached him. The survivor appeared to be a police officer, given the clothes. The policeman was on his knees on the ground, with his pistol aimed at his own head. Gold tried to talk to him, but the policeman seemed way too traumatized.

"I – I didn't have a choice!" he cried out. The other Dex Holders heard him and gathered near him. "The LT… the Sergeant… they were _all_ infected! I could see it crawling… _sliding around beneath their skin_! A – And then they got up… they s – started to talk! Oh, _their voices_! No, _make them stop_!" The man cried and sobbed some more as the Dex Holders stared at him in silence. "… I did them a favor… y – yeah, that's it! I _helped_ them! … Maybe… maybe I need to help myself…"

The traumatized policeman looked up once before he pulled the trigger. The female Dex Holders shut their eyes in time to avoid seeing the man's brain bits being blown out. Suddenly, there was a loud growling from behind as some of the dead bodies started to thrash around.

White looked behind her and screamed in terror. The dead bodies were back on their feet, but… differently. The body's skin was a sickening shade of greenish yellow. The left arm had two long, thick tentacles and a smaller third one sprouting from the wrist. The… head was hanging limp to the side and there was something large sticking out from the chest, pushing the neck upwards. They were all growling in a way that sent shivers down White's spine.

The leading reanimated body swung its tentacles at White. But before they could hit her, a loud crack of a rifle shot rang from afar and the _thing_ inside the body's chest exploded. The body simply dropped, its tentacles hitting the ground harmlessly. Black quickly embraced White and spun her away from the other bodies that were trudging closer. The president trembled as she buried her face into Black's chest. Black gently patted her on the back to calm her down. The remaining reanimated bodies were about to swing their tentacles at the two Unova Dex Holders when another series of loud cracks dropped them as well.

Black and White looked into the distance where the ODST that had saved them was running closer. As the trooper came closer, Green picked up the pistol of the traumatized policeman.

"Everyone, grab a weapon," he said as he checked the magazine of the pistol. "We're going to need to defend ourselves here."

The other Dex Holders started to scavenge the area for weapons. Luckily, there were lots of dead bodies with weapons nearby, so it was easy for the Dex Holders to stock up. Green gave his pistol to Blue while he picked up a shotgun near a dead police officer.

Just then, there were loud terrifying growls everywhere as more reanimated bodies started to mindlessly run closer. The monsters, as the crazed man on the ferry referred to as, were flailing their arms and tentacles as they flooded towards the Dex Holders. The bodies were exuding absolutely foul stench that forced all the Dex Holders to breathe through their mouths instead.

Blue proceeded to shoot the flooding bodies with the pistol Green gave her. But to her surprise, the oncoming bodies didn't stop at all despite the fact that she shot them in the head. She ended up emptying the clip and backed away from the oncoming bodies. Again, a loud crack of a rifle shot from the distance hit the body in the chest and it crumpled on the ground.

"Everyone," Blue yelled out. "Shoot these things in the chest!"

The armed Dex Holders did as told and mowed down the bodies until they ran out of ammo. The ODST in the distance continued to run closer while firing his marksman's rifle.

Gold blasted one of the bodies with a burst from the assault rifle he picked up and watched it crumple on the ground. "Get up so I can kill you again, you bastard!" he taunted the body. The idea was to look tough in front of Crystal, but… Unfortunately, the reanimated body _did_ get back up and charged towards Gold. "Whoa! Shit! I didn't mean literally!" Gold yelled in surprise as he shot the body again.

Thankfully, Crystal didn't have time to observe his panicking expression, as she was busy dealing with the horde of bodies with her own weapon. Once all of the reanimated monsters dropped dead and _stayed_ dead, the Dex Holders carefully scavenged the area for some more weapons.

White was about to pick up a submachine gun when she saw something moving towards her. She quickly picked up the weapon and looked at the thing that was coming closer. The thing was slightly bigger than a human head, and was greenish white in color. It had no eyes or anything, and appeared more like a giant popcorn with lots of tentacles on the bottom. But seeing how it was expanding and shrinking a little, it seemed to resemble a balloon more than anything.

White decided that the unknown thing couldn't be good and was about to shoot it when it jumped towards her. White quickly dropped the SMG and grabbed the balloon like thing. The unknown life form extended its tentacles towards her and stabbed into her chest.

"Agh!" White gasped in pain. The other Dex Holders heard her pained gasp and quickly turned to look at her. The Unova Dex Holder still had her back turned towards them so they couldn't see what was happening. While trying her best to keep the balloon like thing off of her, White managed to turn around. The balloon like thing started to _dig_ into White's chest, tearing out pieces of her shirt, flesh, and even bones. "G – Gah!" White gasped out. "H – Help… Get this thing off of me!"

The Dex Holders aimed their weapons at the balloon like thing, but couldn't fire as they were afraid of the bullets killing White instead.

Black quickly ran towards her but it was too late. Just before he could grab the balloon like thing, it had already broken enough of White's ribcage and entered her chest between her breasts. The girl started to scream in pain and doubled over as lots of her blood spilled from her chest cavity.

"Miss President!" Black yelled in horror.

White started to tremble violently as the balloon like thing caused her skin to swell and burst into dark red and_ yellow-green_ blood all around her neck and shoulder. The bursts ripped through her shirt and everyone could see the balloon like thing forcing White's body to make room.

"B – Black… help me!" White cried out as she lost control of her arms. "No… No, no, no! No! AHHHHHH!"

The girl's eyes were wide open in pain and terror as her hands were pressed against her temples. Her hands had grabbed onto her head and she screamed again. The other Dex Holders looked with horror as White's skin started to rot. Suddenly, White jerked her arms, _snapping her own neck_.

"Miss President!" Black cried out. "No!"

White collapsed on the ground and trembled even more violently. Her head was hanging limp to the side as her body pushed itself off the ground. She was starting to growl in a terribly creepy way that sent shivers down everyone's spines. The girl's body got up to her knees. With a sickening sound of flesh ripping, the girl raised her arms in the air as her left hand snapped down and two long, thick tentacles violently sprouted from the wrist, followed by a short third tentacle.

The _thing_ that used to be White got up to its feet and growled at the Dex Holders. Black simply froze in horror. White's face was still clearly visible despite her skin rotting and her head snapped to the side. The girl's eyes were clenched shut but her mouth was gaping open. Her face was frozen in indescribable agony… The balloon like thing that had entered the girl's chest was now clearly visible in the massive chest cavity that now stretched from the girl's heart to past her head's current height. A couple of tentacles of the balloon like thing were flailing in the air in front of the chest cavity, as if it was sensing the area.

The other Dex Holders stared at the abomination in shock and horror. White, the cheerful and happy new girl who had shown so much potential and always treated everyone with utmost kindness, was now one of the monsters…

* * *

><p><strong>Imported and modified from SA, the Dex Holder KIAInfected list: White.**

**Something tells me that I don't really like White… She is the first victim of the Containment series. The worst part? **_**She's not dead yet**_**. Like the warning in the beginning of the chapter: lots of death and **_**fate worse than death**_**.**

**Note: the unnamed ODST is the same guy as the unnamed Dragon trainer from SA. His 'concept' was an ODST to start with, and it was just altered for SA appearance. His sister is also the same one from SA. You got to **_**love**_** character recycling! Their status in SA changed from mere background characters to cameos. In the Containment series, the girl won't appear to start with but her brother will have an important role. If he's not there, no Dex Holders would survive!**

**A bit of irony here. Military getting involved is actually worse than not doing anything. All they'll do is supply the virus with bodies and weapons.**

**For those who have read all of SA, take heed. This series is based on the actual source of the Unown virus spreading around an area with all the Dex Holders, as you may have noticed already. The actual name of the virus (and other things) will be used. Don't sue me Bungie (and I guess Microsoft and 343 Industries too), as this is NOT for profit.**

**Despite the crossover-like aspects, this series is 100% pure Pokémon Special world (same regions, same characters), with some additions. So… not exactly 100%, more like… 95%. The world now suddenly has an Orbital Defense Platform and a ship docked on that platform. Oh, and lots of weapons. No actual characters from the other universe will be used.**

**For the sake of pure zombie apocalypse style, no Pokémon will be involved. It also spares me the effort of thinking of Flood infections on Pokémon. In case you didn't know, those 'zombies' are known as the Flood. Care to guess **_**why**_**?**

**Next up (part 2):  
><strong>**The Flood… it's spreading all around the Battle Zone. Due to a risk of a mass-outbreak, airlift is out of the question. With the help of a handful of ODSTs, the Dex Holders attempt an escape from the Fight Area, where they will take a small boat to the Sinnoh mainland, where they will be evacuated by air. But they must hurry, as the containment solution involves the Orbital Defense Platform firing at the Battle Zone, which will obliterate everything and everyone in Sinnoh…**


	17. Containment Part 2

**Another really fast update. What can I say? I'm a fast writer (only when I focus).**

**And just to be clear, whatever happens in the Containment series **_**stays**_** in the Containment series. There are quite a few problems that arise if everything that happened here is carried out through all of SR. One, the dead Dex Holders are… dead. Two, destroying the Flood requires either a cure that's been lost for hundreds of thousands of years or an active array of Installations that will eradicate all sentient life in the galaxy, thus starving the Flood to death. The latter creates more problems other than the most obvious one, and exploring those issues will lead to a story that's set completely in another game-universe.**

**And if you're wondering why I'm pulling out the zombie apocalypse mini-story in SR, this was already covered in the very beginning of SR, if I recall. SE will have the pairings, SA will have a story structure, and SR will have**_** everything else**_**. That includes mass death and zombie apocalypse.**

**Now, this part is more gruesome than part 1. Be advised and be prepared so you don't lose your breakfast/lunch/dinner, especially if you felt the last chapter was gruesome. You have been warned. But I'm sure that most of you won't feel a thing.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 17: Containment Part 2<p>

April 30, 10 pm, Route 229, Sinnoh…

"M – Miss President," Black stammered out in terror.

The thing that used to be White lashed out at him with the tentacles on its left arm. Black quickly dodged and backed away. Green pumped his shotgun and aimed. Black quickly stopped him.

"N – No! Don't shoot!"

"She's one of them now, Black," Green said as he kept his eyes on the monster that used to be White. "There's nothing we can do to save her. We have to put her out of her misery."

"No!" Black yelled as Green prepared to shoot.

He quickly pushed the gun's barrel away from White just as the Gym Leader fired. The shotgun blast tore off the tentacle arm of the monster but didn't hit the main body. The ex-Dex Holder reached for the jagged bones in the left arm with its right hand and tore out a long piece of sharp bone. It then lunged forward with a loud growl, trying to stab its nearest former friends.

Gold blocked the bone with his billiard cue and held it there long enough for Crystal to shoot the monster in the chest, more specifically, at the balloon like thing. The ex-Dex Holder suddenly went limp and crumpled on the ground when the balloon like thing popped from the bullets.

Black dropped to his knees next to his former girlfriend. "No… no! This can't be real! Miss President!" He tried to shake White and immediately regretted his decision. The former girl's skin felt like… a sponge. As he shook the body, the squishy body ended up with an imprint of his hands. The girl's face was still a frozen picture of indescribable agony. Black knew that the disturbing feeling of his former girlfriend's skin being crushed under his hands and her frozen expression will be etched into his memories forever…

The ODST who had saved the two Unova Dex Holders came close and looked at the remaining Dex Holders. He glanced at all of their faces and noticed something.

"Wait," he muttered. "Where's White?" The trooper looked down and saw Black crying in front of a monster that had White's face and clothes. "Oh, shit… Sora's not going to be happy…"

The trooper crouched down and examined the former Dex Holder. He could see White's mouth faintly moving. He then realized that the Dex Holder was still alive and was struggling.

With a sigh, the trooper aimed his marksman's rifle at White's head and fired once. The Dex Holder's skin and bones were already significantly weaker than normal, and as such, when the bullet made impact, it ended up tearing off half of the skull. The trooper then immediately stomped on the back of the monster that used to be White, thereby breaking the rotting body into two. He looked at the remnants, at White's dissolving brain more specifically, and sighed again.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Black roared as he jumped up.

"I had no choice," the trooper replied. "I had to put White out of her misery. She was still alive, you know. And as long as the body is physically intact, the Flood will continuously resurrect it."

"The Flood?" Blue asked.

"These things. They're known as the Flood. They came from that crashed ship," the trooper answered. "The Flood spreads very quickly and can infect just about anything that has sufficient biomass."

"Do you know how these things work?" Green asked.

The trooper nodded. "It first starts with the infection form. They're these small white ball like things. They'll attach onto a body with sufficient biomass and infect it. It then becomes the combat form. To kill a combat form, you either need to kill the infection form, or destroy the body completely. A combat form will remain as a combat form until the body runs out of calcium. At that point, the body will start to bloat up and it'll become like a large egg with two small tentacles and legs. They're the carrier forms. If you damage it or you get close to it, it'll explode and release more infection forms. They used to release only 4~6 infection forms, but now they release 20~25." The trooper walked over to destroy the bodies of the other combat forms. "_Then_ you have the pure forms. But that's a different problem altogether."

"What can we do about it?" Red asked. "Do we just… try to kill all of the Flood?"

"That's impossible," the trooper replied. "They're actually quite intelligent, despite their parasitic nature. They'll hide underground in sewage drains or in dark areas and find their way to sneak onto transport vessels so they can multiply and infect other areas. If they think they're at risk of being eradicated, they'll remain perfectly hidden in unexplored areas and will only attack when they think it's time." The trooper sighed. "Right now, our superiors are trying to come up with a solution. But if I had to make a decision, I'd evacuate everyone on the Sinnoh mainland but block off the Battle Zone completely. No one should be allowed to get off this place. Then once that happens, I'd probably use the _Saffron Station_'s Super MAC to incinerate this whole region."

"What?" Diamond muttered. "They're going to destroy this whole region?"

"More or less," the trooper answered. "So… we should probably get going before this whole place is locked off. The only safe method of escaping will be to get off the Battle Zone by boat and then be airlifted on water."

"Will you be going with us?" Blue asked.

The ODST nodded. "Yeah. I know who you guys are. And I know just as well that the world needs you guys. I'll try my absolute best to make sure that you guys get off this place alive. But you'll have to do exactly as I say." He looked at White's destroyed body. "I'll try to ensure that this doesn't happen to anyone else."

"I don't think this Flood is that much of a concern," Gold said as he crossed his arms. "I mean… as long as we stay away from them, they can't harm us."

"Haven't you noticed that the Flood combat forms do not mutate the right arm?" the trooper said. "The Flood can use any weapon they can get a hold of. Why do you think we can't airlift out of here? There are combat forms out there armed with rocket launchers."

"Oh…" Gold muttered.

"Yeah. So beware. If you see a combat form, shoot first then ask question. Anyways, let's get going." He reached for the silenced pistol and silenced submachine gun magnetically attached to his right leg and back. He gave the two weapons to the Dex Holders. "Let me know if you need additional ammo," he said as he reloaded his designated marksman's rifle.

Green gave the silenced pistol to Sapphire, since she had the best sight. He gave the silenced SMG to Blue and the 14 Dex Holders moved on towards Route 228. Black cast one last look at the destroyed remnants of the combat form that used to be White and followed his seniors. Blue reached into her bag and put on her modified Silph Scope. Since it was getting dark, it was hard to see if any infection forms were nearby. Blue activated the night vision and took a look around. So far, everything was clear. But something soon caught her eye.

"Wh – What is that?!" she muttered in shock.

The ODST turned to look where she was looking. "Get down!" he ordered as he dropped down. The Dex Holders did as told. But to make sure that no infection forms could ambush them, the Dex Holders each faced a different direction.

"Um… sir, what is the matter?" Platinum asked the ODST rather fearfully.

"There's a Flood pure form over there," the trooper replied as he pointed ahead. "It's in the ranged form right now. If we're not careful, it can kill us all here."

"Can you kill it?"

"Yes, but it's hard. The pure forms are very tough. It'll take a lot of bullets and in that time, it'll definitely kill some of you." The ODST took a brief look around. Using the communications system on his armor, he contacted someone. "Wait here," he said to the Dex Holders. "Help is coming."

The Dex Holders remained perfectly idle and waited. The ODST continued to communicate through his armor. 15 minutes later, he suddenly turned to look at the Dex Holders.

"Listen. Soon, my squad will arrive and kill that pure form. But when that happens, all the Flood in this area probably charge towards us. We have to fight our way through, so get ready."

The Dex Holders nodded. Yellow started to tremble in fear and Red gently held her hands to calm her down. Blue saw that and glanced at Green, who only seemed to pay attention to his weapon. Ruby and Sapphire held each other's hand while holding their weapons with the other. Gold and Diamond embraced Crystal and Platinum respectively and prepared to protect them at all costs. The ODST saw them and shook his head.

"… I hope I'm not interrupting," he said. "But _perhaps_ a fight against an all-consuming, galaxy-devouring parasite is not the best time for romance."

"On the contrary, this may be the only time we have," Black muttered sadly. "I… just wish I could tell Miss President how I loved her one last time before she…"

"Get ready," the trooper said abruptly. "Impact in 3… 2… 1…"

Blue looked ahead at the Flood pure form. A second after the trooper said "1", a rocket was fired at the pure form, blowing it to pieces with a loud explosion. Immediately afterwards, bullets started to fly as the surrounding Flood combat forms engaged the Dex Holders' help.

"Go, go, go!" the trooper yelled as he jumped to his feet.

The Dex Holders jumped to their feet and followed the trooper. Hundreds of infection forms and combat forms started to appear out of seemingly nowhere and charged towards the Dex Holders. The ODST tossed a grenade to obliterate a large portion while the armed Dex Holders shot down the rest. But as they continued to run, Pearl suddenly groaned and collapsed on the ground.

"Pearl!" Platinum shrieked as she quickly tried to help her friend back up.

"I'm okay," he said as he got back up. He had his hands pressed firmly against his side and tried his best to keep up.

"Pearl… you are hurt," the heiress said fearfully. "Please be careful…"

"I'll be alright, Miss Lady," Pearl said with a grunt. "Some undead bastard just nicked me, that's all."

Diamond and Platinum supported Pearl from either side and continued to run. Before long, all Flood in the area died and the area suddenly fell quiet. The ODST looked at the Dex Holders and ran a headcount. The remaining 14 were all accounted for. With a sigh, he reloaded his designated marksman's rifle with the last clip and handed out additional silenced SMG and silenced pistol clips to the other Dex Holders. He carefully advanced further and soon met up with 3 other ODSTs from his squad. The Dex Holders quickly followed, glad that they had more professional soldiers to help.

"Lieutenant! I'm glad you could join us," one of the new ODSTs said as he came closer. His visor turned transparent so his superior could see his face.

"I can't miss out on this hell, now can I?" the lieutenant replied with a shrug.

"We brought you your favorite gun, LT," said one of the other new ODSTs.

"You know that a sniper rifle does nothing against the Flood."

"No, no. Not that gun. The other one. The one that you specifically ordered."

"Oh. Give me!" The ODST lieutenant received a new marksman's rifle from the other ODSTs. He then checked over the gun and shouldered it. "How many clips did you bring?" he asked once he felt that his gun was in good condition.

"12," one of the other ODSTs replied as he gave his superior the extra clips.

"Must be my birthday," the lieutenant muttered as he put the extra clips in various pockets of his armor. "Alright, troopers! We all dropped feet first into hell, and we fought through some hell already. But we still have a long way to go. So let's keep moving."

"LT, what's with the additional luggage?"

"They're the reason why I called for the three of you," the lieutenant answered. "They are the world famous Pokédex Holders. And it is our job to escort all of them off this hell. We already lost one. Let's make sure we don't lose any more. So introduce yourselves to them so they know what to call you when they need your help."

The biggest ODST, the one with the rocket launcher, gave the Dex Holders a short salute. "I'm Taylor."

The second one, who was carrying an assault rifle, was up next. "The name's Eddie."

The final one, who seemed to have a plethora of grenades, was last. "I'm Mike."

"Alright then. Now that we all know each other, let's get going," the lieutenant said as he started to jog.

The visors of the three ODSTs became opaque and mirrored again as the surrounded the Dex Holders. The group then followed the lieutenant tight, making sure that there was nothing else moving around them.

"Wait," Sapphire suddenly said as she looked up at the sky. "I hear something…"

The ODSTs looked up and they could see some of the stars in the sky becoming bigger and bigger.

"More ODSTs?" Crystal muttered.

"I didn't call for more," the lieutenant said.

One of the incoming objects landed a few meters away with a squishy splat. 4 Flood combat forms and a horde of infection forms emerged from the smoke.

"Oh, shit!" Gold yelled as he began to fire his weapon.

"Flood dispersal pods?" Mike muttered.

"So there's another Flood controlled ship up there?" the lieutenant muttered. "Mike, contact _Cerulean Sky_ and have it destroy that Flood ship!" He then proceeded to shoot the clusters of Flood with his new marksman's rifle, in a burst fire. The other ODSTs and Dex Holders began to scatter as they fought the Flood wave.

"Carrier!" Taylor suddenly yelled from behind.

The ODST lieutenant glanced backwards and saw a Flood carrier form only a meter behind him. He quickly grabbed the nearest Dex Holder and jumped away from the carrier form just as it dropped to the ground and exploded. The trooper quickly got to his knees with his weapon leveled and ready to fire. The Dex Holder he just rescued, Blue as it turned out, was still on the ground, rather dazed. But she soon snapped out, raised her silenced SMG and shredded the oncoming waves of infection forms.

Meanwhile, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum all glanced at the carrier form when the ODST alerted everyone to it. Just like the ODST lieutenant, the three Sinnoh Dex Holders were in range of the carrier's blast and as such, quickly tried to jump out of the way. But Pearl knew that because of him, his two friends would be caught in the explosion. He couldn't let that happen…

Diamond and Platinum tried to jump with Pearl, but obviously, because they had additional weight (in the form of Pearl), they weren't going to make much progress. Pearl quickly pushed his two friends forward, away from the Flood carrier just as it exploded.

Platinum landed hard a meter away and took half of a second to shake away the shock. She was about to get up when a body landed right in front of her face. To her horror, the body belonged to Pearl.

"Pearl!" the heiress shrieked out as she crawled over to her friend.

Diamond quickly did the same and the two Sinnoh Dex Holders tried to shake their friend awake. But unfortunately, it appeared that the hasty Dex Holder was a little too close to the Flood carrier form when it exploded…

"Pearl, wake up!" Diamond yelled in panic.

The hasty Dex Holder didn't move at all. Instead, several Flood infection forms crawled over. Diamond quickly dragged Platinum backwards so that she wouldn't be infected. Unfortunately, this meant that the infection forms were free to infect Pearl… Diamond quickly tried to kill all of them with an SMG that he picked up a while ago, but he couldn't kill them all because of ammo shortage. He could only watch in horror as the Flood infected his best friend. Because the hasty Dex Holder was already dead, the infection was quick.

"No!" Platinum screamed as the newly created combat form charged at her.

Diamond quickly stepped in between them to protect Platinum. The ex-Dex Holder swung its tentacles at the heiress and Diamond took the hit instead. Unfortunately for Diamond, a Flood combat form gains superhuman strength upon infection. Even though the tentacles hit him across his back and his bag took the impact first, the attack was still strong enough to break his spine.

Platinum screamed again when Diamond dropped dead in front of her. She quickly scampered backwards while frantically shaking her head. There was no way this was happening… her best friend… _and_ her boyfriend too? As she moved backwards, her hand touched something metallic on the ground; an SMG that was dropped by a combat form during the chaos. She immediately picked it up and aimed it at Pearl. The heiress couldn't bear to watch and shut her eyes as she pulled the trigger.

She sobbed in despair and kept the trigger pulled until the remaining bullets of the SMG's 60-round magazine were spent. She then dropped the weapon and opened her eyes. Pearl's body was on the ground past Diamond, who was up on his feet. The relaxed Dex Holder had been converted to a combat form already, but was missing both arms, as Platinum had blown them off with her SMG as he was being infected.

"D – Diamond…" Platinum sobbed as she saw her former boyfriend mindlessly trudge closer. But because it lacked arms and therefore was harmless, the heiress struggled up to her feet and approached it.

The area soon fell quiet as all of the Flood except for Diamond had been killed. As the ODSTs moved on to destroy the bodies of the combat forms, the Dex Holders stared at Diamond and Platinum. The heiress was crying as she stared at the mutated body of her boyfriend, and the desolate scene prevented anyone from attacking the last remaining combat form. But the scene didn't last long.

Diamond suddenly started to grow larger. The Flood biomass started to turn white as it grew. Platinum could only stare in horror as Diamond's body started to turn white and round, like a giant egg. It was growing so big that the boy's clothes simply shred under the pressure. More Flood biomass covered the ex-boy's legs, making them appear rather short and stubby.

The other Dex Holders took a couple of steps backwards in shock as Diamond was turned into a Flood carrier form. Platinum remained rooted to the ground, still frantically shaking her head, absolutely refusing to believe what was happening. She only moved when the ODST lieutenant grabbed her by her shoulder and roughly yanked her away from the newly forming carrier form. The moment the heiress was pulled into safety, Mike blasted the former Dex Holder with a shotgun. As the carrier was in the process of mutation and as such it did not have any infection forms being created, it did not explode, and instead, dropped to the ground.

Platinum approached the dead carrier form and dropped to her knees in front of it. She was about to touch it when it burst into blood, like a water balloon that got pricked with a pin. The heiress looked down at her dress, which was now covered in dark red blood of Diamond and yellowish green Flood blood. She then looked at the burst remains. She could see Diamond's broken and deteriorating skeletal frame under a layer of Flood biomass.

Platinum couldn't take it anymore. She leaned over to the side and started to vomit. Blue and Yellow knelt beside her and patted her on the back to assist. The other Dex Holders and ODSTs looked on quietly, as a solemn tribute to allies fallen. The silent tribute continued until Red suddenly groaned from behind.

The ODST lieutenant looked back and saw the Kanto champion fall with several bone-like spikes sticking out from his chest. "Everyone get down!" he quickly ordered as more of the bone-like spikes flew overhead.

The Dex Holders did as told except Platinum, who didn't seem to care anymore. Blue forced her to take cover as Yellow crawled towards Red.

"Red! Red!" she cried in panic. She flipped Red over so that he lied face up and gasped in terror. It appeared that one of the bone-like spikes had hit him directly on the heart. "Red! No!"

"What's happening?" Emerald asked the ODST right beside him.

"Flood pure form," Eddie replied. "It's in the ranged form and it knows we're here."

Emerald looked at the ranged form and tried to figure out what the hell was what. The pure form looked like a ball of some sort that had simply opened up. There were hundreds of bone-like spikes on it that it was shooting out.

"Taylor! Blow that thing to hell!" the ODST lieutenant ordered.

"I'm out of rockets, LT!"

"Shit…" The lieutenant looked at the Flood pure form. "Shit! Tank forms incoming!"

Crystal looked ahead and saw two massive _things_ walking over. Each had no head, had tentacles of infection forms from its 'mouth', two small legs, and two massive 'arms' that it used as shields and rams.

"What do we do?" Crystal asked the ODST lieutenant.

The lieutenant sighed. "Everyone, fire at the ranged form," he ordered. "Mike, you and I are going to engage those tank forms. Use grenades!"

The armed Dex Holders and two ODSTs started to concentrate fire against the ranged Flood pure form while the other two ODSTs rolled out of the way. Once they were safe from the ranged form by staying in the same line as the ranged form and the tank form, they got up to their feet and opened fire. The lieutenant had switched his specially customized marksman's rifle to fully automatic and fired at the nearest tank form's 'head'. Once the prone Dex Holders and ODSTs got the ranged form's attention, the lieutenant tossed his last grenade over at the ranged form to significantly damage it.

One of the tank forms started to roar as it spat out infection forms. The ODST lieutenant shot them as they came out while Mike tossed a grenade between the two tank forms.

Suddenly, Crystal screamed as a bone-like spike from the ranged form stabbed into her shoulder. Gold and Emerald instantly stopped firing and dragged Crystal further away from battle. The ODST lieutenant saw them and gritted his teeth. The unarmored Dex Holders would not last long at this rate…

"Crys, you okay?" Gold asked worriedly.

Crystal clenched her teeth but nodded. "Y – Yes, I'll be okay. Keep shooting that pure form…"

The ODST lieutenant took two grenades from Mike and got ready. He quickly ran past the two tank forms and dashed straight towards the ranged form. The ranged form jumped a little to 'face' his direction and started to shoot the bone-like spikes. The trooper tossed a grenade at it and quickly sidestepped. Some of the spikes slightly bounced off his shoulder armor while one stabbed into it.

When the grenade exploded, the ranged form curled up into a ball to protect itself while it healed. Taking this time, the ODST ran up to it with his last grenade ready. The trooper stuck the primed grenade into the curled up pure form and jumped over it. He quickly dived out of the way as the grenade exploded, destroying the pure form.

The moment the ranged form died with a loud pained screech, the ODSTs and Dex Holders got up to their feet and concentrated fire at the two tank forms, which were way too close for grenades. But one had been damaged from the barrage of grenades earlier and soon toppled over dead. The remaining one charged towards the ODSTs and Dex Holders while they continuously fired.

Before the remaining tank form could swing its massive arm at the group, the ODST lieutenant jumped on its back and stabbed at its 'head' with his combat knife. The Flood pure form began to swing its massive arms around, trying to get the ODST off. The trooper had wrapped his legs around one of its arms and held onto the knife with one hand. With his free hand, he signaled Mike to toss him a grenade. The ODST did as told and the lieutenant caught it. The pure form continued to thrash around and staggered backwards.

"Smile, you ugly son of a bitch!" the trooper yelled once the monster was at enough distance away from the Dex Holders.

He then stuck the primed fragmentation grenade into the monster's 'mouth', as deep as the grenade would go. He yanked his knife out and pushed off of the pure form's arm so that he wouldn't be hit by the monster's swinging arms.

The grenade soon detonated, along with a chunk of the monster's upper body. The monster took a step forward before it toppled over. The ODST lieutenant got up to his feet and sighed in relief. He then walked over to his allies to check on their condition.

Yellow and Blue were crying in front of Red's body while Green and Silver watched silently. Crystal was groaning in pain while Gold and Emerald tried to see if they could remove the bone-like spike from her shoulder while Ruby and Sapphire held her down. Platinum had curled up into a ball on the ground, rocking back and forth while whimpering. Black sat next to her, staring ahead silently with a blank look. The other 3 ODSTs were busy reloading their weapons and checking over their gear.

The lieutenant walked towards Crystal and checked her injury. "Hold still and brace yourself," he ordered as he grabbed onto the bone-like spike. Crystal clenched her eyes shut and held onto Gold's hand as the ODST roughly yanked the spike out. He threw away the spike and signaled Taylor over. "Biofoam," he said.

The big ODST gave him a canister of some sort and the lieutenant sprayed some thick foam on Crystal's wound. The Dex Holder shuddered as she felt the bone-chilling sensation of the foam entering deep into her wound. But after the sensation faded, the pain disappeared and she could move her arm again.

"LT?" Taylor said as he looked at the spike sticking out of his superior's arm.

"Huh? Oh… right." The trooper yanked out the spike and carelessly tossed it aside. He didn't bother with taking care of the minor injury and simply reloaded his weapons. "Let's get moving."

The big ODST looked at the Dex Holders. "I don't think some of them can continue."

The lieutenant crouched next to the Dex Holders. "Come on, you guys have been in worse situations than this, haven't you?"

Blue wiped away her tears and stood up. "I don't know… We never had to deal with losses of friends…"

The trooper looked over at Platinum, who seemed traumatized beyond hope. She was still frantically shaking her head as she rocked back and forth. The trooper sighed and stood up.

"Taylor, do you know what's in that crashed ship?"

"Sure do, LT."

"Run down the list."

"The ship's listed to have 1500 crewman. Given the nature of the crash, we have to assume that all 1500 are dead and are infected."

"Great. 1500 zombies to dance with…" the lieutenant sighed out.

"The vehicle bay registered 3 AV-14 Attack VTOLs, 10 M12 LRVs, 4 M831 TTs, 5 M12G1 LAAVs, and… 2 M808B MBTs."

The non-traumatized Dex Holders looked at the ODST lieutenant, wanting a translation for the military gibberish.

"… What the hell was that ship doing with all those vehicles?" the lieutenant muttered. "So we have 3 Hornets, 10 good old fashioned Warthogs, 4 Troop 'Hogs, 5 Gauss 'Hogs, and… 2 Scorpion Tanks."

"Yes."

"… And there are 1500 Flood combat forms all around there."

"… Yes."

"Well, shit. This is going to be a hell of a night…" the lieutenant muttered as he paced around. "Alright, this is what we're going to do. We don't have much time before _Saffron Station_ blows this place to hell. Trying to get to Sinnoh mainland is now out of the question as it'll take too long. There's only one thing we can do." He looked at his squad. "You three, go to that crashed ship and recover some vehicles. Take silenced weapons and avoid combat if you can. I'm going to need one Troop 'Hog and one Gauss 'Hog and one regular. Think you can do it?"

"What about the tanks?"

"Destroy them. We don't need the Flood driving tanks here. Destroy everything except for the vehicles we need."

"Got it, LT. We'll be back in a few minutes," Taylor said as he started to jog.

The other two ODSTs followed, leaving the surviving Dex Holders and the lieutenant alone.

"So… what's going on?" Crystal asked.

"We're getting out of here, that's what," the trooper replied as he scanned the area. Realizing that the Dex Holders would need descriptions of the vehicles, he continued. "A Hornet is a lightly armored aircraft. Though its twin heavy autocannons and twin missile launchers would be quite useful, it doesn't have enough seats for all of you. A Scorpion tank doesn't have enough seats and it's too slow for fast evacuation. Warthogs are basically jeeps with various weapons attached. A Troop 'Hog has no such weapons, but it can carry at most 10 passengers if we rearrange some parts. The regular Warthog has a mounted chaingun while the Gauss 'Hog has the Gauss Cannon. We need those for the firepower and mobility."

"And how are we going to escape?" Sapphire asked. "You said that going to Sinnoh mainland was out of the question."

"We're going to drive up to Stark Mountain," the trooper replied. "Once we're there, we're going to call for evac. Flood infection forms are quite frail. They'll die in the heat of the volcano. Anyways, we'll call for airlift out of here when we get to the highest point of Stark Mountain. Flood combat forms will have difficulty following us there, and as long as the dropship stays high above the surface, no Flood forms can reach it."

Once the trooper was satisfied that the area was clear (for now), he approached some of the Dex Holders to calm them. He sat beside Black first, who was still staring blankly into the distance.

"I can't believe… Miss President's gone," the Unova Dex Holder muttered.

"I know. But listen, you can't sulk forever. What happened happened. Move on."

"How?"

"What I tend to do is think about revenge," the trooper replied. "It worked for me and it worked for my sister when we killed those who killed our parents. You can have revenge against the Flood by surviving. You won't let them infect you, and you can laugh at them when they get incinerated by the Super MAC round."

Black looked at him. The mirrored visor felt rather uncomfortable, seeing how it made it impossible for him to see the trooper's face. The trooper appeared cold and heartless thanks to that.

"What is this Super MAC anyways?"

"To put it simply, it's an enormous railgun. It'll fire a 3000 ton slug between 12 000 and 150 000 km/s, depending on the version, and the energy alone will vaporize everything here. There's going to be a big-ass hole in the ground, but that's another problem."

"So… once that thing fires, no more tragedies like this?"

"No more."

Black sighed. "Thanks…"

The trooper nodded and moved on to the next traumatized Dex Holder. He sat in front of Platinum, who didn't seem to have blinked once since Diamond… exploded. She continuously rocked back and forth while hugging her knees, whimpering and occasionally shaking her head. Before the trooper said anything, she spoke first.

"… We are all going to die…"

The trooper pretended to think. "… Yeah. But not here. I don't know about you, but I intend to die on a bed, at home, many years from now."

"D – Diamond… he died b – because of… me…" the heiress mumbled. "Pearl too… if… if only I was stronger… he would not have died… And Diamond… he would not have…" She started to sob uncontrollably as her mind recalled her boyfriend's fate and his remnants, which were still on the ground only a few meters away.

"Try not to think about that," the trooper said. "He died protecting you. He wanted you to survive. And if you don't, then he died for no reason. Think about _that_."

Platinum looked at her reflection in the trooper's mirrored visor and blinked. "For… For Diamond?"

"Yeah. Exactly."

The heiress still looked very distraught, but appeared a little less insane. She still hugged her knees and trembled violently, but she wasn't rocking back and forth or frantically shaking her head. The trooper then moved on to Yellow, but Blue and Green have already calmed her down a little. The trooper looked at all of the Dex Holders and spoke, as an important thought has occurred.

"Who's the best driver here?"

Blue looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

"Because we're going to have 3 vehicles, 2 mounted guns, but only 4 ODSTs. Now, I suck at driving, so I'll be manning one gun, and I'll have another from my squad manning the other since we'll need as much firepower as possible. Which means, we're going to need one additional driver."

Green glanced at all of the others before speaking. "I'm your driver then. Out of all of us, Blue and I are the only ones with driving experience. And I can say that I'm better."

Blue looked over at him. "Well… I don't know about you being better. But you do have better reaction."

A few minutes later, the 3 ODSTs returned, each driving a vehicle. The lieutenant walked up to them as they parked.

"Special delivery for the vehicles you ordered, LT," Taylor said as he hopped off.

"What about the other vehicles? Did you destroy them?"

"There weren't a lot of vehicles left intact," Eddie replied. "But we destroyed the 3 Hornets and the rest of the Warthogs."

"And the tanks?" the lieutenant asked.

"That's… the problem," Mike muttered. "We found one Scorpion mangled by the crash. But we couldn't find the other. But there were tank treads on the ground near the crashed ship."

The lieutenant sighed. "Well then. It's a good thing we have a Gauss 'Hog. Mount up, troopers. We're getting the hell out of here." He jumped onto back of the Gauss 'Hog and held onto the turret. "Taylor, you man the chaingun. Mike, you drive my 'Hog and Eddie, drive the other one."

Green watched the ODSTs get into the vehicles and climbed onto the driver's seat of the untouched vehicle. Blue walked over to the rear of the vehicle and helped the other Dex Holders climb aboard. The rear of the Troop 'Hog was big enough to carry up to 5 fully armored soldiers. But with a few small Dex Holders, such as Sapphire, Emerald, Yellow, and Platinum, there was enough space for 8 Dex Holders to climb aboard.

Blue sat in the passenger seat of the Troop 'Hog, Silver in the Gauss 'Hog, and Black in the regular Warthog. The ODST lieutenant charged his Gauss Cannon.

"Alright. Eddie, you're in the lead. Troop 'Hog is next, and Mike, you follow them. Taylor, shred any and all Flood and call out any and all vehicles. I've got your…" he suddenly trailed off and froze.

The Dex Holders looked at him, wondering what was happening. Thanks to the fully clad ODST armor and the mirrored visor, no one could tell whether he was staring ahead, about to sneeze, bit his tongue, or listening to something.

"Lieutenant? What's up?" Mike asked, looking back from his driver's seat.

The lieutenant shook his head. "The brass on the _Saffron Station_ have decided. In three hours, they're going to fire the Super MAC. So we have to get the hell out of here in that time. I thought that we'd be out of here when that decision was made, but apparently not. So let's hurry and get to Stark Mountain. Go!"

* * *

><p><strong>Current Dex Holder KIAInfected list: Red, Diamond, Pearl, White.**

**The Dex Holders are not doing all of the fighting because I'm being realistic… or as close to it I can get. Unarmed, unarmored, and inexperienced people will last as long against the Flood as a candle next to a hurricane. As such, the heavily armed, fully armored, and combat experienced ODSTs are introduced so the Dex Holders aren't completely eradicated. That kind of extermination story might occur in SR at a later date.**

**Note: a Flood combat form will turn into a carrier if it has either 'lived' long enough and therefore it doesn't have enough calcium in the bones, it has taken too much damage to be of any use, or it has been rendered harmless.**

**Part 1 of the Containment series introduced the Flood, namely the infection forms and the human combat form. Part 2 introduced the carrier forms and the 2 of the 3 mutations of the pure forms. Part 3… will contain the **_**scary**_** Flood combat forms.**

**The additional ODSTs' names are taken from actual ODSTs from their universe, though some names have been shortened. The vehicles names and serial codes have been taken as well. Again, don't sue me Bungie, Microsoft, and 343 Industries, as this is not for profit.**

**Next up (part 3):  
><strong>**The Orbital Defense Platform is ready to fire at the Battle Zone. Everyone in Sinnoh mainland has already evacuated. The surviving Dex Holders and the ODSTs have less than three hours to get out of Sinnoh before the Super MAC round incinerates the entire region and the entire Flood contamination…**


	18. Containment Part 3

**The final part of the mini horror story is here! I'm sure that quite a few of you don't like this series, given its dark-ass atmosphere in comparison to the rest of SR. And Dex Holder deaths, most of which aren't 'clean' and are quite nasty.**

**This chapter will not be as gruesome as the other parts. But it will feature the scary Flood, and they are only scary in game-perspective. You will see why exactly they are scary in the games…**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 18: Containment Part 3<p>

May 1, 12 am, Route 229, Sinnoh…

"… Do you think we'll make it out of here?" Blue asked Green as she stared at the regular Warthog that was driving in front of her.

"Of course," Green replied.

"But we lost so many of our friends," the girl said with a sigh. "And we're nowhere close to escaping."

"Try not to think about it."

Blue turned to look at him. "Green, listen… if… if I don't make it…"

"Don't talk, Blue," Green said quickly to cut her off. "I need to concentrate on driving."

Both Kanto Dex Holders focused on the path ahead when the ODST manning the Warthog's gun started to fire. Blue quickly ducked into cover when a small swarm of Flood combat forms started to fire their weapons at the three Warthogs. But their assault rifle and pistol shots did barely any damage to the Warthogs' armor and the combat forms were shredded by the high caliber rounds of the regular Warthog's gun.

Gold kept his arm around Crystal in the back of the Troop 'Hog, ready to push her into cover if something dangerous was to happen. But so far, absolutely nothing seemed particularly dangerous now that they were inside a vehicle. So it seemed that no more Dex Holders were going to die.

"RPG!" one of the ODSTs yelled all of a sudden.

All three Warthogs quickly jerked to the side and narrowly dodged the incoming rocket. The ODST lieutenant on the Gauss Cannon aimed his weapon at the rocket launcher toting Flood combat form and fired before the zombie (well, parasite) could shoot again. The hypersonic shot of the Gauss Cannon obliterated the combat form along with its rocket launcher in a blink of an eye.

"Scorpion!" the driver ODST of the regular Warthog yelled out.

Everyone looked ahead and could see a large scorpion-shaped tank (hence the name) sitting in a ditch off the main road. Just as the three Warthogs drove past, a Flood combat form entered the tank and started to drive it. The moment it did, the tank fired its main 90 mm cannon at the Warthogs.

"Oh, shit!" the ODST lieutenant muttered as the tank's shell nearly missed him. He took aim with his Gauss Cannon and fired as fast as he could.

Even with the Gauss Cannon firing hypersonic shells twice every second, the tank still chased the Warthogs, with its main cannon and the attached machine gun firing. The tank's main 90 mm shells missed, but some of the machine gun shots hit the Warthogs. The Dex Holders in the Troop 'Hog took cover, but one of the tank's machine gun shot pierced through the armor and hit Sapphire on the leg.

"Ah!" the girl screamed in pain as she clutched at her wound. The bullet's speed has been reduced quite a bit when it pierced through the armor, so it wasn't strong enough to rip the leg off.

Ruby quickly examined the wound and tried to see if he could stop the bleeding. He needed something long and soft… He looked over at Platinum, who seemed to be on the verge of losing her sanity again. The heiress was again, curled up into a ball, trembling violently (and not because of the Warthog driving over the rough road). Ruby quickly took Platinum's scarf off of her and wrapped it around Sapphire's wounded leg.

"Are you okay, Sapphire?" Ruby asked once Platinum's scarf was tightly wrapped over the wound.

Sapphire had a tear falling from her eye which she quickly wiped away. She clenched her teeth and her bloody hands.

"Y – Yeah… I'll be okay…"

"Uh… lieutenant, do you see that?" Mike asked as he stared ahead.

The ODST lieutenant finished delivering the final Gauss Cannon shot at the Scorpion tank and swiveled his gun to the front. He temporarily froze at the sight.

"Oh, shit… that's a _lot_ of zombies…" he muttered before he started to fire his Gauss Cannon.

In the narrow paths of Route 228, there were seemingly hundreds of Flood combat forms blocking the paths and waiting on top of the raised cliff sides on either side of the road. But at least these combat forms weren't armed.

"We're going to mow through them!" Eddie yelled as he slammed his foot on the accelerator. "It's a good thing we still have a windshield!"

He gave Black his silenced SMG and the Unova Dex Holder fired it at the oncoming horde of reanimated bodies. The Warthog's gun fired continuously, occasionally stopping to prevent overheating.

"RPG!" the driving ODST yelled again.

Taylor aimed his Warthog gun ahead and saw the Flood combat form far ahead firing the rocket. He used that to his advantage. He fired at the incoming rocket and it exploded right above a horde of combat forms, blowing them up to rotting pieces. It was a good thing those rockets were clearly visible in the night thanks to the glowing red rocket exhaust.

But even with the rocket launcher toting combat form down, there were lots of other armed Flood nearby. The Warthogs still plowed on, mowing them down as they tried to jump in front. The assault rifle carrying combat forms mindlessly fired, many of the bullets hitting other combat forms as they jumped at the Warthogs.

"Ah!" Blue shrieked as a bullet shattered the windshield in front of her. She quickly shook the shattered glass off of her, being careful to not cut herself on the sharp edges.

"Blue, take the wheel for a second," came Green's voice from her left.

Blue grabbed on the steering wheel and kept it steady as told. She took a quick glance at Green and saw… blood. She then realized that Green had both hands pressing against his right side…

"G – Green!" she exclaimed in horror.

"I'm fine," the Gym Leader said.

Blue could see a lot of blood and she started to panic. "No, no, no…" she muttered as she began to dig through her bag with her right hand. She kept her left hand on the steering wheel to keep the vehicle steady. She soon took out her handkerchief and a pack of soft tissues. "Here… Move your hands."

Green grabbed onto the steering wheel again while Blue tried to stop the bleeding on his wound. "Pesky girl, I said I was fine."

"Please tell me you're not going to die," Blue said as she started to tremble. "I – I already lost my best friend and my favorite junior. I don't want to lose you too…" Once she finished with the makeshift _field dressing_, she wrapped her scarf (which she brought in case of a visit to Snowpoint City) around the wound. She stared at his blood on her hands and started to sob. "Platinum's right… we're not going to make it…"

"Blue, we'll be fine. I told you."

Blue shook her head. "No… I can feel it… I'm not going to make it for sure…" She closed her eyes as more tears fell. "White, my favorite junior… She had so much potential. She was basically my successor in our group, and she died first… Red, my best friend… I can't believe he's gone. Dia and Pearl… the two youngest Dex Holders… they're dead too!"

"Get a hold of yourself, Blue."

"Don't you get it?!" Blue snapped at him. "Everyone's starting to die here! And we can't even put up a fight! These… _things_ aren't like any enemy we've faced, and we just can't win!"

"Blue, seriously. Get a hold of yourself. We already have one Dex Holder who's losing her mind. For the survivors, and as their senior, _you_ of all people need to stay collected. If you panic and lose your sanity, everyone else will. So _stay calm_."

"Just… just promise me," Blue muttered. "If I die… please take good care of Silver."

Green looked into her eyes and nodded. "Very well." He figured that he needed to get her to calm down any way he could. Blue seemed to get a little relieved from his answer.

"Thank you…"

…

An hour and a half later, Stark Mountain, Sinnoh…

…

"There it is!" Eddie exclaimed. "Stark Mountain's right there!"

The ODST lieutenant looked on top of the mountain and sighed in relief when he saw a small aircraft hovering high above the tip of the mountain. "There's our ride."

The three Warthogs soon parked on the mountain as high as they could go and everyone got off. Ruby supported Sapphire and helped her off, as she wasn't able to walk on her own anymore. Green simply shrugged off his injury (with help of the ODSTs' biofoam) while Blue tried her best to remain calm and collected. But just as everyone got out of the vehicles and started to climb the mountain, the ODST lieutenant shouted a warning.

"Rockets incoming!" he yelled as he quickly forced some of the Dex Holders to get down on the ground. Just then, _five_ rockets flew from the shadows far away and destroyed the three Warthogs. The trooper got back up and fired at the shadows with his specially ordered marksman's rifle. "Go, go, go!" he ordered to the rest.

But even as the group climbed, the danger was far from over. Blue quickly climbed the volcanic mountain, being careful to examine the paths ahead for any Flood combat forms. Just as she was certain that there weren't any threats ahead, a high caliber bullet hit her in the chest and pierced through her back, tearing out a large chunk of her shirt and her flesh. Blue gasped and remained standing for a second before she collapsed on the ground.

"Sniper!" one of the ODSTs yelled as he took cover.

Silver froze upon seeing Blue fall. "Sis!" he yelled as he tried to run towards her.

"No!" one of the ODSTs yelled. He quickly forced Silver to take cover. "Get down, there's a sniper out there!"

"What do we do?" Crystal asked as she pressed her body against a large rock for cover.

Just then, there was a terribly loud and piercing screech that echoed throughout Stark Mountain. It sounded awfully like a baby shrieking, but… terribly creepy. The moment the screech ended, a swarm of Flood combat forms dropped down from the mountain above. Chaos immediately pursued as the ODSTs and Dex Holders did their best to fight off the horde. But this fight wasn't nearly as simple.

Ruby shot a combat form that had its back to him and was about to fire at another one when a new combat form dropped from above. Before the Hoenn Dex Holder could react, the combat form shot him first at point blank range with a shotgun.

Sapphire screamed in horror and anger as Ruby dropped in front of her. "Ruby! No! You bastards!" She rapidly shot the combat form and was about to hobble towards Ruby's body when another combat form struck her on the shoulder from behind. The girl hit the ground a few meters away and she snapped out of her daze just when an infection form stabbed into her chest…

Black tried to rush to assist Sapphire as she got infected. But before he could kill the infection form, one jumped onto his back and started to dig. The Unova Dex Holder could not do anything as the infection form was on his back and not in front of him.

"No, no, no!" Black yelled through clenched teeth as the infection form took him.

But there was nothing he could do as the infection form gained control of his body. Maybe it was his luck, but the infection form seemed more interested in accessing the Unova Dex Holder's memories than gaining complete control over the body. Black could feel it. His mind's unwanted guest was starting to steal his memories. His hometown, childhood, childhood friends, his travels, everything. The infection form was accessing them one by one and brutally tore them away.

The Flood form then moved on to the memories the Dex Holder was guarding the most. In his mind, Black saw the one person he cared about the most. White… Since her death, Black deemed his unfortunately limited memories of her as his most precious memories. Her rather surprised expression when they first met in Accumula Town, her usual confident look throughout most of their travels, her crushed look of despair after that event in Nimbasa City, loneliness and depression during their separation in Gear Station, happiness and excitement during their reunion, and even her look of concern and care during his crisis in the Pokémon League. Each memory was finite and precious and the Flood infection form was ripping them away.

'_I will not let you have her!_' Black yelled in his mind as he was no longer capable of physical speech. '_I will not let you have her!_'

The infection form ignored him and continued to tear through the memories. Soon, Black couldn't remember anything about his former girlfriend prior to her attire-change… He couldn't even remember when she confessed to him. Or did he confess to her? He couldn't remember anymore.

'_No… I will not let you have her!_' Black yelled again. '_I… will __**not**__ let you have her!_'

Another memory of White was brought up in his mind. His battered mind couldn't determine when exactly the memory was from, but in there, White was in her new attire and she was looking at him rather nervously. She seemed to be holding something behind her and sheepishly stepped closer. Her cheeks were reddish pink and she kept looking at the ground. She appeared very nervous and anxious as she twirled her right foot on the ground, and she looked unbelievably cute in total. She timidly looked up at him and spoke, but no sound came out as Black no longer remembered what exactly she said to him. She flashed him a beautifully bright smile as she presented him what she was holding behind her. But before she did, the entire image of her started to darken in his memories as the infection form tore away the scene from his mind. The girl's image turned darker and darker until all that was left was a silhouette. The silhouette remained for a couple of seconds before it faded as well.

Black could no longer remember what her smile looked like, or how her voice sounded. Or her name, for that matter. Who was she again? Was she a friend?

'_I will not let you have her!_' Black yelled again despite not remembering who he was thinking about.

The Flood infection form accessed a memory from the Dex Holder that he wanted to get rid of. In that memory, an unfamiliar girl was screaming for help as an infection form tore its way into her body. The girl kept screaming as she was steadily turned into a combat form. Her left arm was blown off by a shotgun shortly after the infection and the reanimated body was shot down in front of him. The memory stopped at a scene in which Black was looking at the frozen face of agony of the former girl. Perhaps to torture him some more, the infection form that was inside him didn't rip away that particular memory and instead, let him keep it.

Black shifted his focus away from his compromised memories and instead, to his surroundings. He could see the reanimated bodies of Ruby and Sapphire charge towards Emerald, forcing the last remaining Hoenn Dex Holder to shoot down his closest friends. An infection form had apparently infected Blue during the attack and the reanimated body was shot down by Green. The remaining Dex Holders seemed to be in panic as more of their friends have been assimilated by the Flood. Black was about to mindlessly trudge towards them when his foot touched a grenade that was dropped by a combat form during the attack. Suddenly, another piece of memory echoed in his mind as the infection form stole it.

"_You can have revenge against the Flood by surviving. You won't let them infect you…"_

'_Revenge…_' Black muttered in his mind as he picked up the grenade. '_Revenge… For Red, for Blue, for Ruby, for Sapphire, for Diamond, for Pearl, and for… that girl…_' He pulled the pin on the fragmentation grenade. '_I will not let you have her…_' he muttered as he slowly walked towards the infected bodies of Blue, Ruby, and Sapphire. The three infected bodies were being re-infected by infection forms and were thrashing around as the new host gained control. '_I will not let you have her…_' Black muttered as he used his feet to keep the thrashing bodies on the ground. He then dropped the primed grenade right in the middle of all three bodies and simply dropped on top of it. '_I will not let you have __**me**__._'

All the ODSTs and the Dex Holders shot down the last remaining Flood when a grenade detonated and shredded four Flood combat forms into pieces. The explosion showered the area with pieces of Flood biomass and deteriorating human bones along with a slight 'rain' of Flood blood and human blood. The Dex Holders took cover from the bloody rain while the ODSTs wiped their visors clean.

The ODST lieutenant picked up a rocket launcher from the ground and shouldered it. He was about to approached the shocked and traumatized Dex Holders when a sniper shot hit the rock he was taking cover behind.

"LT, there's a sniper roughly 10 meters above, 130 meters across, and 3 meters right to your position," Taylor said after taking a glance at the Flood sniper.

"I got it," the lieutenant said as he prepared his rocket launcher. "I'll give it my 'Go to hell' present."

The trooper jumped out of cover and fired the rocket launcher twice, using both tubes. The Flood sniper didn't shoot as it was busy reloading its sniper rifle. Once the Flood sniper was blown to tiny bits, the ODST lieutenant dropped the empty rocket launcher and reloaded his weapons. He sighed as he saw the surviving Dex Holders. Green and Silver simply stared ahead with a blank look. Blue's death and infection was very hard on them, especially Silver. Yellow and Platinum were crying as they embraced each other, as they couldn't handle the deaths of so many Dex Holders. Gold and Crystal were doing their best to calm Emerald who was very distraught at the fact that he had to shoot his closest friends upon their infection.

"We have to keep going," he said. "We have less than an hour to get the hell out of here before this whole place is blown to hell."

The ODSTs all reloaded their weapons and prepared to move out. Some of the Dex Holders snapped out of their depression and shock and forced the others to do the same. Crystal embraced Emerald and steadily started to climb Stark Mountain. Green and Silver, quite upset with Blue's death, simply forced Yellow up to her feet and basically dragged her behind them. Gold did the same with Platinum and quickly followed Crystal. With the ODSTs leading the group, they all quickly climbed towards Stark Mountain's tip, where the dropship waited for them.

As the group approached, the ship started to swing left and right violently, as if there was some kind of a fight in the cockpit. But after a short while, the ship stabilized and a body fell out of the opening of the ship. After that little event, the ship returned to its post and hovered high above the tip of Stark Mountain.

Gold approached Crystal while continuing to climb. "Hey Crys, you doing okay?" he asked.

Crystal glanced at him and pretended to be fine despite the fact that she had her good hand pressed firmly against the wound on her shoulder. The effect of the biofoam was wearing off and she was starting to bleed again.

"I – I think I'm fine…"

"Hey, LT!" Gold yelled. The ODST lieutenant looked back at him. "I think Crys needs some help here!"

The trooper approached the two Johto Dex Holders and examined Crystal's wound. "She needs medical attention soon."

"Don't you have that foam thing?" Gold asked.

"Ran out," the trooper answered as he resumed his hike. "So that's another reason we need to hurry!"

The ODSTs and surviving Dex Holders arrived near the tip of Stark Mountain 10 minutes later. Once they did, the back hatch of the dropship opened and a long length of rope dropped down.

"Okay, girls up first," the ODST lieutenant ordered.

As the youngest out of all of the survivors, Platinum was up first. Still with a blank expression, she grabbed onto the rope and the people on the dropship began to pull the rope upwards. The ship maintained its altitude above the mountain to prevent any Flood forms from secretly attaching onto the ship.

After Platinum boarded the ship, the rope was dropped again and Yellow grabbed onto it. But just as the girl reached the dropship, another creepy screech echoed around. The screech was the same as the one that came immediately before a large Flood invasion, so the Dex Holders and the ODSTs below the ship prepared themselves. But maybe it was because the group was so high up the mountain, there were only a handful of Flood combat forms attacking. They were shot down pretty quickly, but one still managed to fire a rocket at the group before falling into the volcano.

The ODSTs all quickly dived out of the way to escape the rocket's blast radius. Following Blue's last wish, Green grabbed Silver and quickly forced him to safety. Crystal pushed Emerald to safety as well. The rocket headed straight towards Crystal and Gold realized it. With one hand, he roughly pushed her backwards while he jumped forward, into the path of the rocket. He knew that dodging the rocket wasn't going to help at all. The explosion would still kill Crystal and Emerald. But if he was to… take the rocket hit before it reached its intended target zone, then the two Dex Holders would be safe from the blast…

Crystal screamed when Gold simply exploded a few meters in front of her, showering the area with his blood and pieces of his body. "N – No, no! NO!"

"Shit…" the ODST lieutenant muttered. "Another one down…" He looked at the survivors. "Hurry up and get on the Pelican!"

Once Yellow boarded the Pelican dropship, the rope dropped again. This time, Emerald wrapped his Magic Hand Extensors around Crystal and grabbed onto the rope afterwards. The Johto Dex Holder was simply trembling in shock from her closest friend's sacrificial (and horrible) death and with her injury, there was no way that she would be able to hold onto the rope for a safe extraction.

After the two Dex Holders were on the dropship, two long ropes dropped down, since there were enough people in the ship to pull in two people at once. Within 5 minutes, all of the surviving Dex Holders were on board and the last ODST was being pulled inside.

Inside the dropship, the Dex Holders could see a girl wearing skintight black clothes and something similar to Blue's Silph Scope over her eyes. Her long black hair was tied back, with the tip reaching down to her elbows. She currently had a silenced pistol aimed out of the dropship, in case a Flood form came close.

Mike and Taylor finished pulling the ODST lieutenant into the dropship. The lieutenant looked back with his marksman's rifle aimed out of the dropship as the hatch closed. Once it did and the dropship started to fly, he got to his feet and looked into the center. He froze upon seeing the girl with the silenced pistol.

"What the… What are you doing here?" he asked as his helmet's visor turned transparent. "Aren't you supposed to be in Lilycove City?"

The girl put her silenced pistol back in the holster next to her combat knife and raised her goggles onto her forehead. "I was, but… here I am!" She smiled at the trooper. "I'm really glad you're okay, brother."

The trooper looked at his sister and noticed quite a bit of blood on her clothes. "Sora, what happened to you?"

"Oh, it's not my blood," the girl said as she looked down at her clothes. "It's the pilot's. He tried to abandon all of you and I had to kill him to stop him."

"Who's flying right now?" the trooper asked.

"The co-pilot," Sora answered. "He'll be fine." She then looked at her brother's armor, which was nearly covered in crimson human blood and even Flood blood. "You were in quite a mess, brother."

The trooper looked at his armor and shrugged. He sat down next to the surviving Dex Holders and took off his helmet. "What can I say? It was a hell of a night." He looked towards the cockpit of the dropship. "Hey, new pilot!" he shouted so that the new pilot could hear him over the roar of the engines.

"Yes sir?"

"How are we doing right now?"

"We are heading away from Sinnoh, no particular destination. Thrusters are at maximum. They'll burn out in an hour, but we only need to keep at this pace for another… 25 minutes!"

"Good. Keep it up!"

Sora looked at the surviving Dex Holders. "… White didn't make it, did she?"

Her brother sighed. "… No… She was infected by the Flood before I could get to them. I… put her out of her misery."

She sat beside her brother and put a hand on the one part of the shoulder armor that didn't have any blood on it. "You tried your best."

"Still… Nine died. Over half are dead…"

"You've been in missions that had fewer survivors than this," Sora said in a comforting tone. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Especially given how you still managed to save six in a Flood outbreak…"

The trooper shook his head. He simply put his helmet back on and had the visor turn opaque again so no one could see his expression. "Anyways… what exactly are you doing here? It's extremely risky here, damn it."

"… I was on a mission when the Admiral told me what happened here. A large ship crashed in the Battle Zone of Sinnoh and you were apparently dropped to lock the area down. But then a few hours later, I heard that there were lots of gunshots and combat near the ship and I was worried about you. So I was pulled out and I called for a ride here to help you." Sora sighed. "You know as well as I do that if anything was to happen to you, I wouldn't be able to live on knowing that I could've helped. And I know that you feel the same, seeing how whenever I'm on a mission, you're in your pod in _Cerulean Sky_, ready to be dropped into my location if I need help."

"Hm. I guess you're right," the trooper muttered. "I once asked if I could be dropped into your location to support you in your mission and… clearly, my request was denied."

The girl shook her head. "Of course it was denied. A SOEIV pod crashing through the roof of a building is not very stealthy, you know."

"… The pod doesn't crash _through_ the ceiling. It just… makes a massive dent, that's all…"

25 minutes later, as the ODST lieutenant talked to his sister and the other ODSTs tried to comfort the traumatized Dex Holders, the new pilot of the dropship spoke through the intercom.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking," he said, copying the tone of an airplane pilot. "We have reached our destination of… nowhere. If you look through the opening blood tray, you can see the _Saffron Station_'s Super MAC round about to incinerate all of Sinnoh."

The people in the dropship all looked towards the back where the hatch was opening. Far away, they could see Sinnoh, appearing perfectly calm and normal. A massive ball of fire suddenly fell from the sky and hit Sinnoh, creating a very large explosion that seemed to shake the entire planet. The sky around Sinnoh turned reddish orange from the hellish flames created by the energy exerted by a 3000 ton tungsten shell impacting the Battle Zone of Sinnoh with a speed greater than 12 000 km/s. Not even 10 seconds after the first Super MAC round hit the Battle Zone, another shot hit the Sinnoh mainland for precaution. Everyone in all of Sinnoh have already been evacuated, but in case any Flood managed to escape the Battle Zone, all of the region had to be incinerated.

Platinum watched her home region being completely destroyed. She closed her eyes and let her tears fall. There was no way that she would ever forget this day… Her best friend, boyfriend, seniors, juniors, and now her home…

Once the incineration was complete, the hatch (also known as the blood tray) closed. The dropship began to climb rapidly as it accelerated towards the sky.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking again," the pilot spoke through the intercom again. "We have just received orders to return to _Cerulean Sky_. ETA is 2 hours. Please buckle your seatbelts and keep your seats, trays, and weapons in their upright positions. If you feel the urge to vomit… please don't, as the experience will be unpleasant to everyone around you. Thank you for flying with the Navy today and I hope you enjoy the rest of the flight."

"Everyone, listen to me," the ODST lieutenant said as he looked at all of the Dex Holders. "Once we get to _Cerulean Sky_, you will all receive medical treatment and time with combat psychiatrists for trauma. And during your stay, we will try our best to help you forget this event."

"… Forget?" Silver muttered. He smirked. "This isn't the kind of thing we can forget. Sis… I've known her for as long as I can remember… And now she's gone. I'll never forget it and I'll never be able to live it down…"

"We'll help you get over it," the lieutenant said. "It helps, trust me."

"Yeah. It really does help," Sora added.

Crystal let out a long shuddering sigh. "Even if we won't be able to forget this day ever, at least… at least it's finally over," she said as she closed her eyes. "Red, Blue, Ruby, Sapphire, Dia, Pearl, Black, White, and… Gold… you can all rest in peace…"

* * *

><p><strong>Ending has been rushed.<strong>

**I said that the unnamed ODST's sister wasn't going to appear in the Containment series, but… I changed my mind. She'll have to make a cameo appearance somewhere, after all.**

**Final Dex Holder KIA/Infected list: Red, Blue, Gold, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Pearl, Black, White.**

**40% survival rate of the Dex Holders. Not bad, given how the Flood generally causes total eradication. But now that it's over, SR will go back to humor based chapters until I feel the urge for another total-eradication style mini story.**

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**Christmas Special! Crystal forces Gold to take better care of his juniors. To start, she gets him to dress up like Santa Claus and secretly deliver meaningful gifts to the Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova Dex Holders. However, upon realizing his incompetence, Crystal has no choice but to join in on the act so that he doesn't screw up completely. But of course, nothing goes according to plan… To be uploaded on December 25.**


	19. Christmas Special

**Okay. The 3 part horror story is over. I feel like it was worth a try. It was a fusion of two different meanings of RPG. One, being Role-Playing Game, kind of applies to the Pokémon series. The other, being Rocket Propelled Grenade, applies to the First Person Shooter game that ran wild in the Containment series.**

**The Containment series didn't focus on the pairing aspects, because like my created character said, a fight against an all-consuming parasite isn't the best time for romance.**

**Going back to the lighter side of SR (mindless humor attempts), this chapter has absolutely no horror and is meant to be funny, unless I screwed up. Enjoy!**

**For those who read SL #009 and the declaration that nothing will be uploaded until 2013, I meant no new SL chapters would be uploaded until 2013. **_**Now**_** after this SR chapter, expect nothing (this time, I mean ALL of S-EARL) until 2013. Not painfully long, as 2013 is only a week away.**

**(WARNING: LIFE SPOILER) Namely, there is no such thing as Santa Claus. This should not be a spoiler, but just in case… (END SPOILER).**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 19: Christmas Special<p>

December 24, New Bark Town, 8 pm…

Crystal stared at the sky as tons of large snowflakes simply poured down to the ground. There was already half a meter of snow on the ground, but it kept snowing. Heavy, _heavy_ snowfall this year. But it wasn't windy, so it wasn't too cold.

Before long, the door to Gold's house opened and the goggled boy appeared, wondering who could be visiting.

"Huh? Super Serious Gal? What are you doing here?"

Crystal spun around to face Gold. "Hi, Gold. It's Christmas tomorrow, and you know what that means, don't you?"

Gold began to think for a few seconds. "… You want me to give you a nice gift?" he tried as he let Crystal enter his house.

"That'd be nice, but I'm thinking of something else," Crystal said with a short laugh. "Throughout the year, our juniors have come to me on several occasions because of… well, you."

Gold groaned a little. "Not this again, Super Serious Gal. You told me this last month. And the month before!"

"I know. But this time, I have an idea. As a way for you to compensate for being such a jerk to them on occasion, how about you use this Christmas to secretly deliver meaningful gifts to them? They're all gathered around central Kanto for the party we planned tomorrow, so it wouldn't be that hard to get to them."

"… Do I have to think of the gifts too?"

"Kind of," Crystal answered. "I already got the gifts. But you're going to have to tell me what gift would be best suited for what junior. That way, you'll get to think of them a little more." She reached into her bag and pulled out the first gift box. "This is a picture we all took together. Every Dex Holder is in here."

"… And that's a gift?"

Crystal nodded. "Yeah. This will mean a lot to one of our juniors, but… basically nothing to everyone else. It will give him or her the idea that he or she is not alone and that we'll always be with him or her. So, to whom would this gift be the most meaningful?"

Gold began to think. Which Dex Holder wanted to belong and be a part of a family? Hmm… Obviously it was-

"Bossy Gal."

Crystal shook her head with a sigh. "Really Gold? You think White is the one who feels alone and wants to be a part of something? The Dex Holder I had in mind is an orphan."

"… Fashion Boy?"

"No, you idiot. _Emerald_. His wish for the longest time was just to have friends. This gift will be very significant to him. We'll be giving him the thought that he's wanted and we all care for him."

Crystal tried a few more times with other gifts, but Gold got every single one of them wrong. He guessed Platinum for a set of winter clothes. The heiress already _had_ a set of winter clothes (without pants, but still) and she was quite tolerant of the cold. After all, the heiress did go from Snowpoint City to Lake Acuity _without_ her coat, wearing her usual sleeveless dress.

"… Maybe I'll go with you," Crystal said with another sigh. "Knowing you, you'll just screw up everything."

Gold shrugged. "Probably."

Crystal proceeded to push Gold upstairs towards his room. "Get changed, Gold. You don't want our juniors to recognize you in those clothes, do you?"

Upstairs, Crystal waited outside while Gold changed in his room. She looked down at her clothes, wondering if she needed to change as well so her juniors wouldn't recognize her if they spot her.

Gold soon came back out, wearing his new clothes. He was now wearing a black jacket, matching pants, and a ski mask…

"No one will recognize me now, right Crys?"

Crystal couldn't help but laugh. "No one will recognize you. They'll just call the police because you look like a burglar… or worse."

"This is the best I can do here."

"No clothes that remotely resemble Santa Claus?"

"Nope."

"Well then. It's time we hit the costume shop. You're buying."

…

4 hours later, Saffron City, December 25, 12:30 am…

…

Gold and Crystal landed near the rented lodge of the Hoenn Dex Holders. Though both Dex Holders were dressed in "Santa" attire, they still had dark masks over their faces. It was Gold's argument that their juniors would still recognize them if their faces were visible. Crystal wanted to argue that they'd look like burglars, but let it slide. After all, all she had to do was not get spotted.

The two Dex Holders quietly approached the lodge, with Gold carrying a bag full of present boxes. He looked at the lodge for a little bit before turning to face Crystal.

"So Crys, how are we going to get inside?" he asked. "Do we just climb down the chimney?"

Crystal looked up at the chimney and shook her head. "Look at that. Smoke. Our juniors have the fireplace active. If we climb down there, we'll be roasted alive."

"So what then?" Gold asked. He observed Crystal's thinking expression and grinned. "You didn't think this far ahead, did you?"

The girl appeared quite embarrassed. "Shut up… I was busy thinking of the meaningful gifts, alright? I didn't have time to think of _how_ we were going to deliver the gifts." Crystal let out a long sigh as she picked up a rock. "I'm going to hate myself for doing this… Gold, we have to hurry, so get ready."

Crystal threw the rock at the window closest to the door, shattering it. Gold quickly entered through the shattered window and opened the door from the inside. Crystal entered and both Johto Dex Holders quickly and silently made their way towards the living room.

They soon spotted the Christmas tree beside the active fireplace. Normally a fire hazard, but the lodge was built with that risk in mind. Everything within two meters from the fireplace was absolutely fireproof.

Crystal was just about to pick the Hoenn Dex Holders' gifts from the bag Gold was carrying when someone suddenly yelled.

"INTRUDER!"

Both Johto Dex Holders jumped in surprise and looked to the right, where Sapphire was repeatedly yelling while charging closer. Crystal noticed that Sapphire was behaving like an absolutely pissed off Tauros, as the girl was knocking over furniture in her path as she recklessly and dangerously charged. Having failed to recognize her seniors under their disguise (and Crystal's usual perfume was masked by the smell of the active fireplace), the Hoenn Dex Holder leapt towards Crystal, knocking her down to the ground.

Crystal quickly grabbed onto her junior's wrists to prevent her from mauling her. The Johto Dex Holder knew that she would get knocked out in one hit from her junior. Hell, she could even _die_ depending on where the Hoenn Dex Holder aimed. So Crystal tried her absolute best to keep her juniors' fists away from her. Sapphire was way too strong, however. Within a couple of seconds, Sapphire had pinned both of her senior's hands with one hand and aimed a punch with the other.

Crystal tried to free her hands, but to no avail. Her junior was too damn strong. How did she get so strong, anyways? Even without that brute strength, the Johto Dex Holder doubted that she'd be able to focus enough to free herself. Sapphire was basically snarling in rage that reminded her of a Garchomp about to hack its prey into many pieces. That deadly glare from that fiery blue eyes, horribly sharp fangs, tightened fist that seemingly resembled Metagross's Meteor Mash… _damn_ she was scary…

But before the near fatal punch hit and broke something, Sapphire fell over to her side unconscious. Crystal looked and saw that Gold had whacked the Hoenn Dex Holder on the back of her head with his billiard cue (that had been painted over to appear like a big candy cane).

Crystal was about to rush over to check on her junior's condition when she heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Gold quickly dropped three present boxes near the Christmas tree and both Johto Dex Holders quickly ran out of the lodge before Ruby and Emerald could get to the scene.

"Well, that went well," Gold said once they were far away from the Hoenn lodge.

Crystal panted to catch her breath. "Sapphire is… really scary when angry. I thought she was going to kill me there… I don't see how Ruby can constantly get her angry and not fear any repercussion."

"So what now, Super Serious Gal? Do we abandon the plan?"

"No. We still have to get to the Sinnoh and Unova Dex Holders. We just… don't tell the Hoenn Dex Holders of what really happened. Ever."

The two Johto Dex Holders made their way towards the Sinnoh Dex Holders' rented lodge. Crystal shuddered at the thought of how close Sapphire had gotten to completely breaking her face with that punch. She made a note to never upset the Hoenn Dex Holder. Though in normal circumstances, Sapphire wouldn't really do anything to her since she was her senior. But just in case…

Within 10 minutes, the two Johto Dex Holders arrived at the Sinnoh lodge. There was no smoke coming from the fireplace, so Gold and Crystal decided to climb down there. Inside the lodge, the two Dex Holders quietly crept out of the fireplace and towards the Christmas tree. So far so good. No sound was made and none of the Sinnoh Dex Holders were in sight.

But it didn't last long. Before Crystal could even reach for the present boxes in Gold's bag, Platinum came downstairs, as she wanted a glass of water. Gold and Crystal both quickly took cover in the dark. The heiress let out a yawn as she headed towards the kitchen.

The two Johto Dex Holders remained in cover as they heard the refrigerator open. They were going to remain hidden until the heiress went back upstairs to sleep. But, once again, their plan didn't quite work out.

As Platinum made her way towards the stairs, she took an unconscious glance at the fireplace and suddenly stopped walking. She kept her eyes on the fireplace for a few seconds before she walked closer.

"Why are those logs out of place?" she muttered quietly.

Crystal glanced at the fireplace and realized that when she climbed down the chimney, she knocked over the neatly piled up logs and they were now scattered everywhere. As the heiress made her way towards the fireplace, she looked to her left and saw Gold…

Platinum let out an ear splittingly loud terrified shriek as she tried to run. Crystal, who had been hiding behind the couch next to the heiress, hastily grabbed onto her legs, forcing the heiress to trip. Gold took this time to drop three present boxes near the Christmas tree before helping Crystal.

"N – No!" Platinum cried out as she kicked her senior in the chest to force her off. "Not again!"

Crystal had to let go of Platinum so that she wouldn't be kicked in the face. The heiress desperately struggled up to her feet and tried to run again. Gold grabbed her from behind and put her in a sleeper hold.

The girl flailed her legs and tried to pry open the grip Gold had over her throat. But with circulation cut off from her head, she passed out within seconds. Just as Platinum collapsed on the floor, a Torterra and Infernape appeared out of their Pokéballs. In the stairway, Diamond and Pearl stood, ready to punish the two home invaders for harming Platinum.

Just as the Infernape charged over and the Torterra shot a barrage of sharp leaves, Gold and Crystal dived through the windows to make their escape. They sent out their aerial transport Pokémon and fled, being careful to evade the anti-air projectiles in the form of Diamond's Torterra's Razor Leaf.

Once they were far away from the Sinnoh lodge, the two Johto Dex Holders headed towards their last destination. The night was a disaster so far, but they couldn't leave out the two Unova Dex Holders. And without anyone as sharp in hearing as Sapphire, this time, the plan would succeed.

Gold and Crystal entered the Unova lodge via the chimney. This time, Crystal restacked the logs and took cover in the dark to see if White heard anything. Black… would still be asleep, as he was quite dense when his Munna wasn't munching on his brain- _dreams_.

Relieved to know that the plan would actually succeed this time, Crystal reached into the bag Gold was carrying and withdrew the two last remaining gift boxes. But just as she was about to place them under the Christmas tree, she noticed something.

"What the…"

"What?" Gold asked. "Something wrong?"

Crystal stared at the gift boxes. "… This one's for Ruby… And the other one's for Platinum…"

"Huh?"

"Gold!" Crystal yelled in anger. "What the hell! You put the _wrong_ gifts at the Hoenn and Sinnoh Christmas trees!"

"Hey, don't yell at me!" Gold yelled back. "You were the one who screwed everything up! You're the one who broke the windows to alert the Hoenn guys and you're the one who knocked over those logs in the Sinnoh place!"

"But what we did would have some meaning if you put the right gifts at the right place!" Crystal argued.

Crystal stared at the two _wrong_ gift boxes in despair, wondering what she was going to do.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?!" came Black's voice from behind.

Gold and Crystal turned around and saw the two Unova Dex Holders in the stairway. Black stood in a protective stance in front of White, in case the two unwanted visitors were going to cause any harm.

"Well, sh*t…" Gold muttered quietly.

"Miss President, go call the cops," Black said to White.

White nodded and eyed the two invaders rather fearfully. "Okay… Be careful, Black…"

Crystal sighed when White started to run up the stairs to call the police. The Johto Dex Holder took out a small ball of sort and pitched it at White, hitting her on the back of the head. The ball exploded into a cloud of white gas that covered the Unova Dex Holder completely.

White suddenly groaned as she collapsed on the stairs. Black turned to look at her and froze in horror.

"Miss President!"

Taking this time, Gold dashed over and whacked the Unova Dex Holder on the back of the head with his indestructible _candy cane_. Once both Unova Dex Holders were unconscious on the floor, Gold looked over at Crystal.

"What did you throw at Bossy Gal?" he asked.

"It's something I brought for the worst possible scenario. A capsule containing a mix of Stun Spore and Sleep Powder. Mostly Sleep Powder though," Crystal answered. "I extracted it from Parapeon, just in case."

"So… basically a gas grenade," Gold commented.

"More or less." Crystal stared at the two unconscious Unova Dex Holders. "Well, tonight's thoughtful plan resulted in a complete disaster… Four juniors knocked unconscious…"

Gold and Crystal looked out through the window when they heard police sirens in the distance. Gold tossed the two _wrong_ gifts at the Christmas tree and grabbed Crystal by the wrist.

"Let's bail, Crys. I'm sure the four conscious juniors called the cops."

Crystal nodded. "Let's get out of here before it's too late."

The two Johto Dex Holders left the Unova lodge by the back door and headed away from the direction of the police sirens. Once they were clear, they headed back to Johto.

"Crys, I think my juniors are going to hate me more now thanks to you," Gold said.

Crystal groaned. "I know…" She looked at Gold and sighed. "Gold… we must _never_ tell our juniors of what happened tonight."

"What if they find out on their own? Some of them are smarter than you, Crys."

"… I'm smarter than…" Crystal trailed off, realizing that it was true. Platinum, for one, was definitely smarter. And Black too, but only if he activated his _Detective Mode_. She sighed as she had to suck up her pride and admit it. "Never mind. If they suspect us, we'll have to go talk to Blue and get her to help us…"

* * *

><p><strong>Next up (non-DHC):<br>****The Dex Holders have had enough. They're tired of Blue constantly tricking and blackmailing them. Some of the Dex Holders plot something against Blue before one of the DHC recordings but the plot is easily discovered. Showing arrogance, Blue makes a bet with the other Dex Holders that they would never be able to trick her. As such, the Dex Holders have prepared their response… (Suggested by a faithful reviewer of SR).**

* * *

><p>Post Ending:<p>

Blue groaned and put a hand over her face. She glared at Gold and Crystal and shook her head.

"This is the second time you two idiots are standing in front of me after you royally screwed everything up. I thought you would've learned after your so-called help with Platinum overcoming her fears. Thanks to you two, some of our juniors might _gain_ new phobias!"

"… Sorry," Crystal mumbled out.

"Only you two could turn a nice event like giving meaningful presents into a flat-out intrusion." Blue let out a long sigh before focusing on Crystal. "Now Crys, I know you'd like me to stop grouping you and Gold together. You're clearly much smarter than him, although your intelligence is really put into question whenever you're with him for some reason."

Crystal looked embarrassed and even ashamed and kept her head down. "Sorry… I blame Gold for that…"

"I do too," Blue said with a nod. "Tell you what. If you help me take care of a little dilemma, I won't call you two idiots until your next idiotic plan fails spectacularly, and I'll help you two in convincing our juniors that you did not mean any harm whatsoever."

"Alright. So what dilemma is that?" Gold asked.

"You know how Platinum's Pokémon are infected with the Pokérus?"

"Yes. But the virus is harmless," Crystal said.

Blue nodded. "I know. But that's not my dilemma. The problem is that the virus has been transferred onto Red and Green's Pokémon."

"… And?" Gold said, clearly not understanding the issue.

"Do you even know what Pokérus does?" Blue asked her two Johto juniors.

Crystal nodded. "Yes. The Pokémon is not harmed at all, but it grows twice as strong… Oh…"

Blue nodded. "Yeah. And let's face it. Red and Green are already ridiculously powerful. And it's not bad having very powerful friends. But when they become _too_ powerful… And besides, though Green's fine with his Pokémon infected, Red is… different. He's too excited about his Pokémon becoming more and more powerful, and he's going around, battling all of our juniors again and again. He forced White to battle him 10 times this week. Her Pokémon are hurt, and so are her feelings, but Red's still too excited. He thinks he's training her when in reality, he's just beating her up." Blue cleared her throat before she gave her Johto juniors their 'mission'. "So your task, should you choose to take it to get out of your 'idiot' status, will be to battle Red continuously until the Pokérus dies. But beware, thanks to the effect of the virus, his Pokémon are more powerful than ever."

Gold and Crystal glanced at each other. The boy simply shrugged while the girl sighed. They both turned to look at Blue.

"Deal," Gold said without much thought. "I mean, all we have to do is take a beating for as long as the virus lives, right?"

Crystal sighed again. "I don't have any choice, now do I? I want to be stopped being referred to as 'the other idiot' by Silver…"

Blue smiled. "Of course. Oh, and I suggest that you two hurry up. Red battles Black and Sapphire in a two-on-one immediately after he beats up White. Black and Sapphire are two of our juniors who will be even more excited about Pokérus than Red. If all three have their Pokémon infected with the virus…"

Gold and Crystal looked at each other for a second before they both started to run. Their primary objective: find Red and essentially become his Pokémon's punching bags for an unknown period of time. Their secondary objective: prevent Black and Sapphire's Pokémon from being infected by the Pokérus, and become their punching bags for the duration of the virus if failing to stop the spreading.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, Pokérus really doesn't act the way it's made out to be in the Post Ending. Once the virus dies, the effect lingers, but it's no longer transferrable. The virus dies at 00:00 each day, but survives if the Pokémon infected is not in the party when the date changes. The only effect of the Pokérus is that the infected Pokémon gain twice the amount of EVs it normally gains from battles (but not from items). So instead of having to beat 126 Golbats or Basculins to max out the Speed stat, Pokérus halves that number into 63. And once a Pokémon has gained all 510 EVs in total, it can no longer gain anymore, therefore Pokérus does nothing. So clearly, in the Post Ending, the virus effectsconsequences have been altered just because it's funny.**

**The Post Ending refers to an event from SE #033: The Outside World, for those who are wondering.**

**As mentioned in SL #007, here are the explanations for the updated Age Relations. It's identical to the one below the SL chapter, so if you've seen it there, no need to see it here.**

* * *

><p>Age Relations:<p>

Birthday, Ages (Arc):

Red: August 8, 11 (RGB), 13 (Y), 14 (GSC), 16 (FRLG, E)  
>Green: November 22, 11 (RGB), 13 (Y), 14 (GSC), 16 (FRLG, E)<br>Blue: June 1, 11 (RGB), 13 (Y), 14 (GSC), 16 (FRLG), 17 (E)  
>Yellow: March 3, 9 (RGB), 11 (Y), 12 (GSC), 14 (FRLG, E)<br>Gold: July 21, 11 (GSC), 13 (E), 16 (HGSS)  
>Silver: December 24, 11 (GSC), 13 (FRLG, E), 16 (HGSS)<br>Crystal: April 30, 11 (GSC), 13 (E), 16 (HGSS)  
>Ruby: July 2, (RS), 12 (E)<br>Sapphire: September 20, 10 (RS), 11 (E)  
>Emerald: May 31, 11 (E)<br>Diamond: April 4, 12 (DP, Pt)  
>Pearl: June 6, 12 (DP, Pt)<br>Platinum: October 27, 12 (DP, Pt)  
>Black: NA, 14 (BW)  
>White: NA, N/A

RS arc starts on Ruby's birthday and ends on Sapphire's. Therefore, Ruby's birthday would have passed but not Sapphire's. But Ruby is recorded to be 11 in RS arc while Sapphire is at 10. Therefore, Ruby and Sapphire will be at the same age when Sapphire's birthday passes. E arc takes place a year after somewhere in the same 80 day time frame, which is after Emerald's birthday. Emerald is recorded to be 11 along with Sapphire. Therefore, Ruby and Sapphire are 1 year older than Emerald.

Ruby, Sapphire: 0  
>Emerald: -1<p>

DP arc starts in September (in the _actual_ Japanese version), after Diamond and Pearl's birthdays. Platinum's has not passed yet, but all three are recorded to be 12. Therefore, Platinum is 1 year older than Diamond and Pearl.

Platinum: 0  
>Diamond, Pearl: -1<p>

Silver is recorded to be 13 in E arc but his birthday has not passed yet. Therefore, he is two years older than Ruby and Sapphire. Yellow is recorded to be 14 in E, but her birthday has passed. Therefore, Silver and Yellow are at the same age. Crystal's birthday has passed in E and she is recorded to be 13 years old. Therefore, she is 1 year above Ruby and Sapphire, but 1 year below Yellow and Silver. Blue's birthday has passed in E, but not in FRLG. If Blue's birthday did not pass in FRLG, then neither would have Red's or Green's. Therefore all three are at the same age. Blue is recorded to be 17 in E, therefore the Kanto trio are 4 years above Crystal.

Red, Green, Blue: +4  
>Yellow, Silver: +1<br>Crystal: 0  
>Ruby, Sapphire: -1<br>Emerald: -2

In GSC arc, Crystal is recorded to be 11 while the Kanto trio are at 14. This means none of the Kanto trio's birthdays have passed but Crystal's has, since they are actually 4 years apart. If Blue's birthday has not passed, then neither would have Gold's. But Gold is recorded to be 11 in GSC, therefore he is 1 year above Crystal.

Red, Green, Blue: +4  
>Yellow, Gold, Silver: +1<br>Crystal: 0  
>Ruby, Sapphire: -1<br>Emerald: -2

As White's birthday and age are not known, we don't know if she is the same age as Black. Black is 14 in BW arc, but his birthday's not known, neither is the date in which the BW arc takes place. So he could be 15 if birthday has not passed, or 14 if it has.

**From this point on, the Age Relations are merely postulations.**

Although Platinum is 13 in Pt arc once her birthday passes and Emerald is 11 in E after his birthday, given the apparent temporal proximity between the Pt arc and the HGSS arc, it's possible that DP and Pt arcs take place 3 years after E.

Red, Green, Blue: +4  
>Yellow, Gold, Silver: +1<br>Crystal: 0  
>Ruby, Sapphire: -1<br>Emerald: -2  
>Platinum: -3<br>Diamond, Pearl: -4

We assume Black and White are at the same age.

Black, White: 0.

Given the nature of Pt arc's conclusion, it's possible that the BW arc takes place at the same time or very close to the HGSS arc. Therefore, the updated Age Relations that will be used in all of S-EARL goes as…

Red, Green, Blue: +4  
>Yellow, Gold, Silver: +1<br>Crystal: 0  
>Ruby, Sapphire: -1<br>Emerald, Black, White: -2  
>Platinum: -3<br>Diamond, Pearl: -4


	20. Mass Revenge

**Alert: just so you readers know, someone (with permission though) is translating one or more of S-EARL into Vietnamese. Permission was given on January 22, 2013. So keep this in mind in case you hear stuff. Extremely unlikely, but you never know. This note will appear on the most recent chapter of all of S-EARL.**

**Someone told me that there was some birthday story made relatively recently featuring Green and Blue that seemed like a blatant copy of SR #012: Horror Park. I personally haven't bothered with it yet. Anybody care to support/refute that statement?**

**Regardless, this chapter is the result of a suggestion by a recently-revoked faithful reviewer of SR.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 20: Mass Revenge<p>

Celadon City…

Blue entered the TV studio a little late this time, as she had to take care of something. She expected another _Dex Holders' Challenge_ session of being telekinetically abused by Yellow, but when she approached the other Dex Holders, she spotted something shocking. Red was carrying Platinum in his arms, who seemed to be unconscious. The Kanto champion looked very worried, along with Diamond and Pearl who quickly followed him as he headed towards the exit.

Blue became very worried as well for a few seconds before she noticed something. She looked over at Silver who gave her the slightest of nods. Her worried expression faded and she smirked.

"Okay, I get it. Nice try, Platinum. You're perfectly fine," Blue said with a laugh.

Instantly, Red, Diamond, and Pearl stopped running and Platinum got off of her senior's arms. Crystal let out an exasperated sigh as she stared at Blue.

"You saw through that again?!"

Blue smiled at her. "Of course. You guys will _never_ be able to trick me. I guarantee it!"

"Want to make a bet?" Gold asked.

"Sure, why not! If you guys do manage to trick me, I'll take you guys all out to the most expensive restaurant in all of Kanto for dinner, make reservations in the best hotel for the night, _and_ you'll only be riding limousines for that night. But if you fail, I want to see some of you kiss! You've all been hiding it, but I can see it clearly like the moon on a cloudless night. Should you fail in your attempts, I'll get some of you dance together. You will hold each other's hands, you will look into each other's eyes, and _things will be awkward_!"

Gold and Crystal took a quick glance at each other before looking at their devious senior. "Deal."

…

Few days later, Violet City…

…

"Okay, the 100th episode of _Dex Holders' Challenge_ is coming up, and I think that'll be our best chance to pull off a massive prank on Blue," Crystal said to the gathered Dex Holders (all but Blue, of course).

"What do you have in mind, Super Serious Gal?" Gold asked.

"But first things first," she said. "We need to take care of the… possible _traitor_ first."

In that instant, Silver tried to make a run for the exit. Ruby and Sapphire quickly tackled him down to the floor. They forced him up to his feet and Crystal slowly walked up to him.

"Crys, you have no guarantees that I'll tell sis of what you're plotting," Silver said in defense.

"No, but we need guarantees that you _won't_ tell Blue," Crystal answered. She suddenly smiled in a way that was similar to how Blue smiled whenever she plotted something. "Come with me, Silver. We need to talk in private."

Crystal dragged Silver away by his wrist, leaving the other Dex Holders to fill themselves in with the plan the girl had come up with. Once they were out of hearing range (even for Sapphire), Crystal released Silver and looked at him.

"Now Silver. You heard Blue," she said as she crossed her arms. "If we fail in our plans to trick her, she'll force some of us to kiss. Now, since you don't like any girl, she won't make you kiss anyone. But guess what? I know a friend currently working for Professor Elm who would _love_ you. And I have a feeling that you know her too. If I'm right, you like her as well."

Silver's eyes opened wide for a second before he quickly regained composure. "I… don't know what you're talking about, Crys."

Crystal grinned. "I think you do know. She told me of her little… _date_ with you last week. You know what this means, don't you? If you sabotage our plan, then I'll tell Blue of your _girlfriend_. She'll then invite her for our 'punishment' and she'll force you to kiss your girlfriend in front of everyone. Your secret will no longer be a secret. So, do we have an understanding?"

Silver gulped. "… Yes, ma'am."

…

Next day, Celadon City…

…

The plan was in full swing. In a meeting for the _Dex Holders' Challenge_, Crystal casually tossed the idea of the Dex Holders creating some live event for the 100th episode, and Gold and Ruby casually made suggestions for that idea as if they had just occurred. Blue didn't look suspicious and accepted the idea. Platinum casually suggested in some of the Dex Holders singing in that event, which Blue also accepted.

Eventually, everything was fully planned out. The event would occur in an arena in Saffron City, which could hold up to 6000 people. The first item would be a comedy act by Diamond and Pearl, but with Gold and Emerald interfering. As some of the Dex Holders pointed out, the two Sinnoh boys' comedy acts were… not that great.

The second item would be a short Q&A segment featuring Black and White. After that, the event would go straight to music focus. Each region of Dex Holders would create their own song and dance. Of course, they would get help from a composer and other professionals. And by 'coincidence', the Kanto group's turn would be the very last.

The Dex Holder groups spent their time rehearsing for the acts on the 100th episode. And within a week, the composers created the songs and dances for each group while the scheming Dex Holders finished preparing for the ultimate prank against Blue.

The Unova Dex Holders' song was straight forward. It would focus on emotion, as it was a duet with only Black and White. The Sinnoh group's would focus on humor and parody, with satirical lines and flat-out nonsensical rhymes and puns. The Hoenn group's was quite fast paced, with lyrics based on conquering and winning. The Johto group's song was complex compared to the previous ones. The theme was Gold and Silver arguing, with Crystal caught in the crossfire. But the end of the song would have Crystal basically dominating both boys.

The Kanto group's featured two duets merged into one. Each pair would take turns with their lines, but in a way that seemed fluent and natural. This required quite a bit of rehearsal. Green really didn't see the point of rehearsing for some song that was going to get sabotaged anyways, but he did his best anyways. He had to put up a good act just so Blue would get tricked for once. As a result, with every Dex Holder trying their best, Blue… didn't suspect anything.

Within a few days, the 100th episode finally came. All 15 Dex Holders gathered on the stage of the arena, looking at all the people seated in front of them. As the program director and thereby the new MC, White took the microphone and proceeded to get the event started.

While the Unova Dex Holder spoke, Silver kept twitching, as if he resisted the urge to tell Blue everything. Crystal glared at him, but he avoided eye contact. She simply stomped on his toe with the heel of her shoe. She wasn't wearing high heels like White, but it still probably hurt like hell. Silver winced and stopped fidgeting. Both Dex Holders cast a glance at Blue. She didn't see the little commotion, as she was busy mentally rehearsing her part.

Once the introduction was out of the way, the first item started. While Gold, Emerald, Diamond, and Pearl performed their act, Crystal eyed the large 'party ball' hanging directly over a large X painted on the floor. That X didn't seem out of place at all, given the decoration of the stage floor. But when Blue stepped on that mark during her part…

Once the comedy act and the Q&A segments ended, Black and White re-entered the stage, dressed according to their theme. Blue stared at White, impressed by how cute she looked in her white dress. A worthy successor, if taught properly…

50 minutes later, everyone finished with their segments except for the Kanto group. The moment Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow entered the stage, everyone else scattered for the big plan. Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald took over the spotlight controls so they may lead Blue into the big trap in the right time. Gold and Crystal took over the controls for the giant electronic screen in the background that usually showed the animations/graphics for each of the songs. Diamond and Pearl tied Silver to a chair hidden from view and guarded him, just in case. Platinum had the controls for the giant trap, Black had the lightings and White had the camera crew ready.

Blue still didn't notice as she was way too occupied in perfecting her part in the song… Red, Green, and Yellow glanced at each other and nodded. Everything was set.

Platinum eagerly waited for the time to make her move. She knew precisely when to pull the trigger. During Blue's final part in the song, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald were going to merge the spotlights directly on top of the large X, prompting Blue to move there while still engrossed with singing. The moment she stepped on the X, Platinum was going to set off the trap. And it will be awesome.

Within a few minutes, the time came. Blue, still completely engrossed with keeping her singing voice perfectly steady, noticed that the spotlights were moving away from her. She didn't know why, but she instinctively followed. The spotlights soon merged on top of a large X and Blue stepped on it without much thought.

The moment she did, the music stopped and she heard a loud pop from directly above. In a blink of an eye, several buckets worth of liquid dropped on top of her, forcing her to drop to her knees. All the music had stopped and lighting had returned to normal. Blue glanced backwards and froze upon seeing the giant screen. Instead of the animations for her song, only one word was being displayed. "SURPRISE!"

"Wh – What the…" she muttered, completely caught off guard by the turn of events. She looked in front of her and spotted the various cameramen of the _Dex Holders' Challenge_ all pointing the camera at her, probably taking a close-up view of her shocked expression. Blue then looked down. She realized that she was covered in feathers and… Gastro Acid… She screamed as she suddenly understood what had happened.

"Congratulations, Blue!" White said happily, with a microphone in hand. "You have just been tricked by the rest of us!"

Blue looked up and saw the large 'party ball' that had split in half. She looked around and realized that the distance from the stage and the first seats was large enough so that none of the Gastro Acid would get on anyone else…

While White explained to the audience of what happened (without mentioning the specifics of the bet), the other Dex Holders approached Blue. Except Silver, as he was still tied up on a chair. Blue groaned and looked down in embarrassment, unable to believe that she had let her guard down. And she knew what was going to happen from this, and she did _not_ look forward to it.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it, Blue?" Green asked with a smirk.

"… Yes. Yes it is…" the girl muttered. "… I cannot believe you tricked me… After all that work…"

"You know what that means, don't you, senior?" Gold asked from behind. "Give us our limo, free hotel night, and the most expensive restaurant of all! I'm hungry!"

Blue tried to get the Gastro Acid and bird feathers out of her hair with a look of utter disgust. She then stared at the gathered crowd in despair. Her friends have made her look absolutely ridiculous in front of thousands of people…

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't swear revenge. This event was a revenge dished out by her friends. If she wanted payback, then they'll want another payback and the cycle will continue. And Blue didn't want to risk causing another humiliating event like this from happening again.

"I'm… going to go take a shower," Blue said to the other Dex Holders. "So… wait for me outside the arena. And I'll… reserve all the stuff I promised you for tomorrow." '_I'm going to have to borrow a lot of money… Why, oh why, did I ever make this bet? … Too late now, I guess… DAMN!_'

* * *

><p><strong>Next up (non-DHC):<br>****It's just another summer day in Johto. Everyone's doing their daily routine activities that are as boring as they were the previous day. But for Crystal, no day at the orphanage is boring, thanks to a handful of… troublemakers. Dealing with world-threatening disasters, evil teams, and even local criminals are nothing special compared to another 'ordinary' day at Earl's Academy.**


	21. Another Day at Work

**I was going to take a break after that S-EARL simultaneous update, but… this chapter was already like 75% done. It was in the works for a part of the Gold & Crystal burst in SE over 4 months ago, so…**

**By the way, some people are on the verge of being revoked of their faithful reviewer status (or lose progress to becoming faithful) for some of S-EARL.**

**Category: SE/SL.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 21: Another Day at Work<p>

April 21, Earl's Academy, Violet City, 2 pm…

It was a nice day. Nice, calm, warm, peaceful day where nothing could possibly go wrong. But of course, this was Earl's Academy where everything generally did go wrong.

Crystal looked on from a distance as all the orphans ran around and enjoyed the nice weather. She kept her eyes on four particular orphans, the greatest hell raisers she had ever seen in the orphanage. They weren't really mean to others (sometimes), but pulled off ingenious pranks that would make Gold and Emerald proud.

Every time someone came to visit the orphanage, these four orphans made it their duty to make the experience a living hell. Blue visited once a few months ago and ended up with a thumbtack in her foot and staples in her arms. The tack and staples weren't big enough for major damage, but enough to cause minor bleeding. Blue had given Crystal hell for that experience…

The four hell raisers only obeyed one person, and that was Crystal. But they only listened as long as her instructions didn't directly interfere with their schemes. And they had a _lot_ of schemes going on at once.

"Frederic! Frederic! Put that rock down!" Crystal ordered, spotting one of the four hell raisers tossing a fist sized rock in the air. "You might hurt someone!"

"Don't worry! I won't hurt anyone with it. I never miss, remember," the 8 year old said.

The little hell raiser threw the rock at a nearby tall Berry plant and hit a thin branch. The branch shook violently and the large iron-hard Wepear Berry fell… directly onto a little castle another orphan was building using various blocks. Crystal shook her head and went on to help the upset boy rebuild his obliterated castle. Frederic grinned in satisfaction and walked away to seek his next victim. As Crystal helped in building a sturdier block castle, she glanced up to check on the other orphans. She spotted two of the remaining hell raisers running around the playground, 'accidentally' stepping on others' feet and kicking away toys.

The Johto Dex Holder quickly stopped them. The two hell raisers, named William and Samuel, obeyed for once and went on to do something else. Crystal sighed in relief but was worried about what the fourth and worst hell raiser was doing.

"William, where's Sarah?" she asked.

The little hell raiser looked around for a second and soon spotted his companion. "There she is!"

Crystal looked at where the little boy was pointing and saw the fourth hell raiser on a large tree branch, with a baby Weedle in hand.

"Oh no…" Crystal muttered. The Weedle appeared to be very young, which meant there were bound to be Beedrills around somewhere. Crystal shuddered at the thought of being chased by a swarm of pissed off 3-feet-tall bees with 3 massive stingers. "Sarah! Get down from there! And leave the Weedle! If you don't, you'll be chased by Beedrills!"

"That's the idea!" the little girl yelled.

"Bad idea!" Crystal shouted as she ran towards the tree. If that little girl wasn't coming down, she had no choice but to go up there and drag her down.

"No! I want to see you catch all of the Beedrills at once! It's so cool!"

"Can't I just catch a bunch of _harmless_ Pokémon at once? Like a group of Bellsprouts?"

"No! Bellsprouts suck! I want to see Beedrills!"

"Sarah, I don't even have Pokéballs with me today. I gave all I had to Emerald and I couldn't stock up on them. I only have a handful of prototypes that I'm not even sure works! So if you do lure a swarm of Beedrills, there's a big risk of them going out of control!"

The hell raiser thought for a second before she set the Weedle back down. She then climbed down and Crystal watched carefully in case she fell. Once the little hell raiser was completely off the tree, Crystal led her back towards the other orphans. Unfortunately, she could hear a really loud buzzing noise coming from behind before she could retreat to safety.

"Oh, no…" the Dex Holder muttered. She looked backwards and counted 20 Beedrills, looking quite pissed off. "Everyone! Run!"

All the orphans saw the swarm of Beedrills and started to run. Except the four hell raisers, who stood by, watching. Crystal reached for her Pokéballs and then realized that she had left them _inside_ the orphanage building. Figures… She took out the box of the prototype Pokéballs from her apron and tossed it to one of the hell raiser orphans. At this proximity, she couldn't really use them effectively and needed someone's assistance. She then took off the apron and stared at the horde of Beedrills.

The leading Beedrill tried to stab her with one of its stingers. Crystal blocked it with her apron. The stinger had stabbed through the apron and Crystal twisted the apron, rendering the stinger immobile. One Beedrill from the side tried to attack and she held its stinger away from her with her right foot.

The hell raiser with the box of Pokéball prototypes (Frederic, as it turned out), tossed one of the prototypes at Crystal. The Dex Holder pushed back the stinger with her right foot and swung around with its momentum, heel-kicking the incoming prototype Pokéball into the Beedrill with her left heel, capturing it. 1 down, 19 more to go.

With both hands, Crystal swung the Beedrill still 'attached' to her apron, forcing it to collide into a group of 3 Beedrills. Frederic tossed 3 Pokéballs in succession. Crystal spun around on her left foot, using her right foot to kick the incoming 3 Pokéballs into 3 separate Beedrills, capturing them. 3 more down, 16 more to go.

Crystal kicked the nearest bug in the side of the head, forcing it to back off. She then immediately heel-kicked the next one using the momentum, forcing that one to back off. The third bug tried to stab her with both of its stingers but the girl tornado-kicked it using the built-up momentum from her two previous kicks before its stingers could get close to her body. She kicked an incoming Pokéball into a Beedrill using her right foot, heel-kicked an incoming bug with her left heel, then kicked another Pokéball into another bug with her right foot again. 2 more down, 14 more to go.

Frederic threw a prototype Pokéball at a Beedrill. The Pokéball bounced off its stinger and… Crystal kicked it right into the bug's face.

For the next 3 minutes, Crystal didn't even have enough time to think, as the bugs became more and more aggressive. She couldn't remain idle for even half of a second, as she had to constantly dodge incoming Beedrill stingers while kicking off the bugs that were too close and kicking incoming Pokéball prototypes into Beedrills that weren't in front of her face.

But eventually, there was only one left. This one managed to strike Crystal on the shoulder with its stinger, but didn't stab her. The Dex Holder stumbled and fell to her knees. The Beedrill took its chance and thrust both stingers towards the girl's chest. Crystal quickly backed off to avoid getting stabbed and wrapped her legs around both of the stingers, rendering them immobile. She then pulled herself up and grabbed onto the Beedrill's head to avoid getting hit by the third stinger. The Beedrill began to flap its wings, striking the girl on the face again and again, forcing her to block with one arm. Crystal suddenly put a hand in the air. Frederic tossed a prototype Pokéball and it landed on her palm. Crystal thrust the ball into the Beedrill's face and immediately she fell onto the ground as the Pokémon was captured.

The orphans began to applaud as they ran closer. Crystal remained sitting on the ground, panting to catch her breath. She smiled at the orphans to show them that she was perfectly okay.

"That was so cool!" Sarah said excitedly. "I want to see it again!"

Crystal's smile faded. "No, no, no… don't…"

"Aww… alright. Next time."

30 minutes later, the orphans were back to playing and enjoying the nice weather. Crystal kept her eyes on the hell raisers, in case they did anything again. Having to fight 20 Beedrills in hand-to-stinger combat wasn't something she wanted to try again. Though she did get to test out the prototype Pokéballs Professor Oak had given her earlier that day. She looked into the box she took back from Frederic and noticed that only half of the prototype Pokéballs remained. So she was halfway done in thoroughly testing them. Perhaps once the volunteering was done for the day, she'd go somewhere with Gold and finish testing.

Crystal snapped out of her thoughts when she heard something smash into the fence of the orphanage. The orphans heard it too and they all stopped what they were doing. Crystal slowly approached the source of the disturbance, wondering what it could be. The orphans followed as well.

"Ah, don't come," Crystal said. "It could be something dangerous."

All the orphans backed off and waited from afar. Once she felt they were at a safe distance, Crystal carefully walked towards the source of the disturbance. Past a small group of trees, there was a large hole in the wooden fence. The hole seemed to have been made by a blunt force of sort and it was large enough for an adult to crawl through…

Without warning, a hand shot out from behind one of the trees and grabbed onto Crystal's hair. The girl tried to swat the hand away, but whoever grabbed onto her suddenly yanked her close, slamming her face first into the tree. In the few seconds she was dazed, the assailant had come out of hiding behind her and wrapped an arm around her throat. She tried to push the hand away, but froze when she felt something sharp and cold pressed against her neck.

"Don't try anything," the assailant warned. "Or I kill you."

He forced her to move away from the fence and approached the group of gathered orphans. The little kids all started to panic upon see Crystal's predicament. Some screamed while some just cried.

"Shut up!" the assailant yelled. "Or the bitch gets it!"

"Please," Crystal choked out. "Don't use bad language in front of the children!"

"Whatever. They'll hear it someday."

"What do you want?"

"Those damned cops are going to be here soon, and you are going to help me make a deal with them." Much to Crystal's horror, the criminal's free hand reached down from her throat and onto her chest… "Hmm… And maybe afterwards, you can help me with something else."

'_No, no, no! Not in front of the children! Their minds will get tainted forever!_' Crystal thought in panic. '_… And mine too, I suppose…_'

She tried to think of a way out of her situation. The criminal had a knife pressed against her throat with one hand, and his other was… holding onto her pretty tight. She then looked at the group of orphans, worried about how they would take the hostage situation (and the prelude to rape). They looked so frightened, every single one of… wait…

'_Where's Frederic, William, and Samuel?_' Crystal wondered as she stared at Sarah. The little hell raiser looked at her with a nonchalant expression. The hell raiser never panicked and never got scared. She caught her eye and blinked three times in rapid succession. '_Wait a second… I've seen her do that before… A makeshift timer!_'

Crystal saw Sarah blink like that one too many times before. She always used it as a silent signal to her friends, who would be hiding somewhere out of sight, ready to pull off a perfectly timed prank. And this time, Crystal had to assume the 3 hell raiser boys were hidden somewhere, ready to give her perfectly timed help.

Sarah blinked a second after her 'signal'. Crystal calmed herself despite being _violated_ so she may make the best decision when the time came. The hell raiser blinked once more a second later. Crystal held her breath and held the knife arm of the criminal in place so that he may not kill her easily. The hell raiser blinked a third time…

In that instant, a construction grade nail was shot from the trees and stabbed into the knife hand of the criminal. Since Crystal had been holding that arm in place, he could not slit her throat with the knife. The Dex Holder kicked upwards with her right foot, using her flexibility to kick the assailant in the face despite the fact that he was behind her.

Crystal quickly pushed the knife hand away while he was stunned from that surprising kick. She then tried to escape from him, but he could still reach her. He swung his knife at her (which had been now nailed into his hand) in a desperate attempt to kill her. Crystal managed to dodge the lethal attack, but the tip of the blade had cut across her left cheek, leaving a long, relatively deep gash.

Regardless of the minor injury, the Johto Dex Holder kicked the criminal in the head three times in rapid succession with both of her feet. She started with a roundhouse kick with her right foot, used its slight momentum for a spinning heel kick with her left, and used the built up momentum for a midair roundhouse kick, also known as the tornado kick. It seemed that the temporary self-defense lesson Green forced her into a couple of years ago did help… Maybe the Gym Leader would still offer her that opportunity if he had time…

But she'd worry about that later. The criminal was still on his feet, despite reeling quite a bit. He kicked her in the chest, knocking her down to the ground. He then tried to reach for her, but two construction grade nails stabbed into his knees, having been shot from the trees once more.

Sarah saw the opportunity and threw a wooden board (where her friends removed those nails) at the reeling man. He saw the board coming and caught it before it hit him in the face. In that instant, Crystal jumped to her feet, sidestepped towards him and delivered a side kick at his face. Her heel hit the wooden board first, effectively smashing it into the criminal's face a split second before the kick actually connected with his jaw.

The man teetered from that kick but soon toppled over unconscious. All of the orphans (minus the four hell raisers) cheered and ran towards Crystal, who had dropped to her knees to catch her breath.

"Big sis!"

The Dex Holder saw them and smiled at them to show that she was okay. Again. The orphans all suddenly embraced her and started to cry, forcing her to comfort each one individually. From the corner of her eye, Crystal saw the 3 hell raiser boys climb down from the trees, each with a slingshot in hand. She recalled telling them to put those things away many times already, as they may hurt someone. But _thankfully_, they didn't listen to her. Again.

Soon, Sarah walked over to her with a first aid kit in hand. All the other orphans tried to help with the treatment of her wound, which really wasn't necessary. But they apparently wanted to repay the favor for each time she helped them with their cuts and scrapes.

Eventually, the Violet City police came to investigate the intrusion. Falkner was leading the investigation, so Crystal told him all that happened despite the 20 orphans still clinging onto her while crying.

Afterwards, Crystal patted each one on the head and tried her best to comfort them. She was sure that some of them may have been traumatized and hoped that she would be able to help them overcome it. But this was her job. Well, _volunteer_ work, anyways. It was her duty to help these orphans in any way she could, including physically protecting them and calming them emotionally. For her, it was just another day at work. She had no idea how to overcome a trauma, though. She didn't know if anyone else could help her either.

But all of her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when she heard a very familiar voice. Crystal felt all of her worries and troubles being washed away in an instant and she quickly spun around to face the source of that familiar voice.

"Hey, Crys!"

"Hi, Gold!"

* * *

><p><strong>And… there you have it. The first SR chapter that's based on SL. No, this chapter was not randomly cut off. (Advertisement) Check out SL #008 to see exactly where this chapter fits.<strong>

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**Something… strange happened. Something… unprecedented. And terrible. And in a blink of an eye, Green is Blue and Blue is Green! What the f- Oh, Blue thinks it's fun to be in Green's body, as she believes she could blackmail him and threaten to ruin his reputation. But she soon realizes that Green being in her body is more disastrous than she could've ever imagined… (Suggested/Taunted by a perhaps-soon-to-be faithful reviewer of SR).**


	22. Heart Swapped

**The second update made in two months! First being SL #013, which got the ball rolling for the rest of S-EARL.**

**This chapter has been suggested by a faithful reviewer of SR. Normally, I wouldn't consider an idea like this, but alas, I was taunted. Well, this'll be a one-time-only occurrence.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 22: Heart Swapped<p>

Mew. It's a small, pink, floating Legendary Pokémon only seen by some. It is told that those who see Mew will be blessed with luck, though that particular rumor seems to be pure bullsh*t. Most people who have seen it consider it to be adorable. Those who have seen it play believe that it cannot possibly harm anything. But those who have seen it screw around or fight say otherwise. Although it prefers to play most of the time, Mew shows its… dark side whenever it's bored or angry.

In battle, Mew utilizes all of its abilities to confound and destroy the enemy. With its ability to instantly Teleport or instantly go invisible, it is a very difficult Pokémon to fight when it's angry. There's a reason why Mew's bad clone, Mewtwo, has such combat prowess. On normal circumstances, however, Mew will avoid combat and only retaliate to incoming attacks instead of actively pursuing and destroying the enemy.

When playing, Mew will mostly do harmless things, such as stealing toys and playing with other people's properties. When bored, however, it chooses to mess with people in various evil ways, such as kidnapping people and watching the responses, warping a hapless victim 40 meters into the air and watching them freefall before catching them, and one case of warping someone right out of the hot springs of Lavaridge Town in Hoenn and into the half-frozen Lake Acuity of Sinnoh.

Today, Mew is bored. Very bored. That truck it warped in from the Vermillion City harbor didn't do anything to alleviate its unparalleled boredom. Even jamming a rollercoaster to a standstill while in the middle of a loop in Nimbasa City's amusement park didn't do much. As a result, it chose to leave its home of Faraway Island once again and Teleport to Pallet Town to search for more hapless victims.

Within a few minutes of flying around invisible, Mew found its victims. It spotted two trainers of the opposite gender, talking/arguing with each other. It didn't know what they were arguing about, and didn't care either. Something about each others' lives being easier than theirs? Ah, it didn't matter.

Mew had seen those two trainers before. They both tried to catch it, but for different purposes. He wanted its power. She wanted money by selling it. They both changed, and Mew did help them once in saving a whole ton of lives in Vermillion City. Maybe it was time the two trainers returned that favor.

How shall it mess with them? Perhaps it'll help them settle their dispute. If they were to live each others' lives for a short while… That would be very interesting to watch, Mew decided. Heart Swap would suffice. Since its genetic code contained the data on every single Pokémon in existence (oddly including those of Mewtwo, which was the result of adaptation that Mew underwent upon the revelation), Mew accessed the abilities of Manaphy. While the two trainers below were still engaged in the heated argument, Mew hit them with Heart Swap. It wouldn't trigger right now. That'd be more destructive than funny. The Heart Swap would trigger when the two trainers went back home and went to sleep, and it will last… oh… 3 days.

Now to sit back and watch the havoc. Or until the two victims realize their predicament, perhaps messing with other victims are in order. There was a guy somewhere in Johto who's absolutely obsessed with Suicune. So perhaps taunting him with a fake Suicune would be hilarious…

…

Next day, 6 am…

…

Blue snapped awake due to a loud alarm blaring right beside her ear. She sat up and shut off the alarm clock. The moment she did, she noticed… a few odd things. First, she didn't set the alarm the previous night. There should not have been anything to wake her up this early in the day. Second, the room wasn't the room where she normally slept. Blue _then_ noticed the bodily changes.

"What the hell?" She noticed that her voice wasn't hers. But… Green's. "… WHAT THE HELL?!"

Blue quickly looked around for the mirror. But there wasn't one nearby, so she had to go to the washroom. Upon seeing her reflection in the mirror, she realized that she somehow swapped bodies with Green… She pinched herself (extra hard in case she _did_ really swap bodies) to check if this whole thing was a dream. It was not. Blue then quickly tried to get to a Pokégear, but had no idea where Green kept his. But being the… half-machine that he is, he kept all his stuff perfectly organized (and even categorized) on his desk. The moment she found the Pokégear, she called her own Pokégear number. Luckily, Green picked up after a few rings.

"Green!" Blue called out, making sure that she wasn't being too loud. "We have a _serious_ problem here!"

"So I see," came her own voice from the Pokégear. "This… complicates a few things. Meet me in my Gym in 3 hours."

Blue hung up and stared at 'her' reflection, wondering how this could've happened. Although this whole situation was weird as hell, it wasn't _too_ terrible. At least she didn't swap bodies with _Gold_. That would've been absolutely terrible.

With a sigh, Blue proceeded to prepare for the day. After washing Green's face and brushing his teeth, she headed back into Green's room. Out of habit, she reached for lotions and various other products on the desk, only to realize there was no such thing in Green's room. Blue simply sat on the chair by the desk, wondering if that was it. There were no moisturizers or anything like that at all, so she wondered if she was already ready for the day. … That was boring.

Blue decided to just dress for the day and wander around inside Green's Gym (something that she could never do under normal circumstances). Apart from the awkwardness, changing clothes was… really easy. There weren't a whole lot of options. There were literally _three_ different shirts and _two_ pairs of pants. Oh well. Better simple than complicated.

Similarly, Green found himself in an odd predicament in Blue's room. After washing _her_ face and brushing _her_ teeth, he returned to the girl's room and found a whole ton of facial products on her desk. After looking at them for a minute, he simply chose to ignore all of them and just get dressed. Getting dressed was a _very_ awkward feat, and he sincerely hoped that Blue wouldn't ask him about it. If she didn't ask him, he wouldn't ask her.

But dressing was a lot harder than he expected. Green never thought it was possible to fill the whole dresser with clothing. Naturally, Green chose the most obvious set of clothes: a T-shirt and pants. He found it surprising that Blue even had that kind of clothes. He only ever saw her wear a skirt or shorts. Perhaps these full-length pants were winter-wear? Oh well. Irrelevant.

Once that ordeal was over, Green proceeded to silently sneak outside. He didn't know the exact relationship between Blue and her parents. Wasn't too good from what he heard. And besides, he didn't know _what_ to say to them. It was best to just get the hell out and deal with the repercussions later.

Having successfully escaped (Blue's parents were still asleep), Green sent out Blue's Wigglytuff.

"Viridian City," he ordered as he jumped on. The Wigglytuff looked at him for a second, wondering why its trainer sounded so cold today. Green offered no explanation, as he didn't know how to explain anyways. "Now."

…

3 hours later, Viridian City Gym…

…

Blue waited outside the Gym, as she was denied access. When it was locked, the Gym was password protected, and she hadn't a clue as to what the password was. But she could see herself approaching from afar, so she didn't have to wait too long.

The moment Green landed and returned her own Wigglytuff, Blue walked up to him. In case people were nearby, she just walked with hands in the pockets. Something that Green would do. Green approached her, also with hands in the pockets. Something that Blue would _never_ do. Damn it… But there was a more urgent matter to discuss than learning how to walk like her.

"… Green, did you… put anything on my skin when you woke up today?" Blue asked, being quiet to make sure no one else could hear.

"No, why do you ask?" Green asked.

"Damn it, Green!" Blue yelled. "There are lotions and sun blocks and… moisturizers in my room! And brush my damn hair when you wake up! … And wear clothes that I'd normally wear! This… _suit_ isn't going to attract anybody!"

"The idea of me wearing a _shirt_ and _pants_ is because it's normal," Green answered. "And the last thing I want is other guys asking me for dates. Though I could beat them up."

"… If you do that, I'm going to ruin your reputation. I'll be going out and asking all sorts of girls to dates and totally screw you over. I'll make you look like Gold!"

"… That was uncalled for."

"Sorry, that was unnecessary," Blue admitted. "I was just… angry."

From far, far away, the Johto Dex Holder in question sneezed at the sudden mention… while staring at Crystal over the breakfast plates…

"Anyways, let's discuss this inside so the word doesn't get out," Blue suggested.

"Very well then."

Green approached the locked Gym but didn't open it.

"What's wrong?" Blue asked.

"Password protected, and fingerprint sensitive," Green answered. "Designed to keep you out of my Gym whenever it's locked. Efficient, under normal circumstances. Obstructive, in current situation."

"… Green, stop talking like a machine," Blue said with a sigh. "Learn to talk like me, damn it."

"Inefficient," Green said. "Does not get point across fast enough."

"… Just open the damn door, will you?"

Green took his own hand and after forcing Blue to look away, began to punch in the password. Though technically pointless, consider how it was fingerprint sensitive. Blue wouldn't be able to get into the Gym once the situation reversed anyways. But until the situation fixed itself, Blue must not know the password. And considering Blue might find a way to bypass the fingerprint scanner, discretion was necessary.

"My hands are so dry," Blue complained. "Didn't you _see_ the moisturizer?"

"Yes. But deemed unnecessary."

"And I assume you didn't put any sun blocks?"

"Again, deemed unnecessary."

"Do you know what kind of damage that'll do to my skin?"

"No. Unimportant."

Blue let out a frustrated sigh. "This whole ordeal is going to suck horribly…"

Once inside the Gym, the two Dex Holders locked the door and entered a small room in the far back where none of Green's Pokémon could hear them.

"Now then, what's your schedule for today?" Green asked.

"There's a female Dex Holder meeting coming up in about… three hours. And after that meeting, I was going to treat the girls to a dinner."

"Your meetings last from noon to dinner time?" Green asked. "Pointlessly long."

Blue narrowed Green's eyes. "Hey, there's a lot to talk about. Anyways, what's your schedule?"

"Research."

"Another boring day for Mr. Boring."

"A _productive_ day. Entertainment is irrelevant to research." Green glanced at the clock. "Is there anything I should know for that upcoming meeting?"

Blue thought for a few seconds. "White almost got mugged yesterday. Talk about that, and comfort her. Do what I'd do. Sapphire wants to know how she might be able to get Ruby out of his 'amnesia'. Again, talk to her. Make sure her plan is not "beat the truth out of him". And for that dinner afterwards, don't go to an expensive restaurant. And if Platinum insists that she'll pay, let her, but only after pretending to refuse."

"I'll keep that in mind. Where's the meeting?"

"Goldenrod City. Platinum made reservations somewhere, so she'll know where to go. Just wait for everyone at the Pokémon Center."

"Very well."

Green stood up and proceeded to walk away. Blue quickly stopped him.

"Wait, what am I going to be researching on?"

"Go to my grandfather's lab. The research projects are posted on the wall in my research room. I'm sure you know where that is, since you invade that room once every two days."

"Yeah, I know. Green, listen. Act like me, okay? Do what I'd do. We do _not_ want anyone else to know of our situation."

"Agreed."

…

Next day, 11 am…

…

Blue sat on Green's seat in his research room, staring at the computer monitor. Damn it, Green's life was… hard. There was no enjoyment in that life. It was either train, or research. Whoever said that Green's life was easy… didn't know him at all. Blue made a note to apologize to him next time she saw him. She had no idea that his life was this… dull. No wonder he was machine-like.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Crystal limped towards her. The girl had lots of bruises all over her skin, and looked as if she was beaten up in a fight not too long ago. Blue wanted to ask what happened, but she had to pretend to be Green. Which meant, she'd stare at the monitor and pretend as if nothing happened. She'd wait for Crystal to talk to her first.

"Green, do you know what's wrong with Blue?" Crystal asked, thankfully before Blue's patience depleted. "She's acting kind of weird lately."

Blue looked over at her junior and tried her best to sound like Green. "Hm? What do you mean?" '_Green, you jerk. What did you do this time?!_'

"In the last female Dex Holder meeting, she forced us all to… well, she forced us to take self defense lessons."

"… What?"

"She even… sparred with me and kind of… beat me up. Though I'm not doing nearly as bad as White, who had to spar with Sapphire. And after that, during dinner, she paid for the meal, even though Platinum insisted that she'd pay. Normally, Blue lets her, but not this time. Did something bad happen to her recently that upset her?"

Blue stifled the urge to groan. "I'll… go have a talk with _her_."

Once Crystal left rubbing her bruises, Blue took out her Pokégear and called Green.

"What do you want, Bl- … _Green_?" came her own voice belonging to Green for now.

"You," Blue growled out. "Your… I mean _my_ Gym, _now_!"

Half an hour later, Blue stood fuming in front of the Viridian City Gym, waiting for Green to get over there. When she told him to deal with White's mugging incident, self-defense lessons were _not_ what she had in mind. And sparring with Sapphire? What could that accomplish? That girl sparred with her Blaziken on a daily basis. White was no match for her at all! Even if all the other girls teamed up to fight Sapphire, she'd still beat them all up with ease.

Along with worries about White and Crystal, Blue was relieved at the same time to know that Crystal was beaten like this. This meant that her own body was safe from severe physical harm. If Green chose to spar with Sapphire and practically destroyed her body, she'd be a lot more pissed off than she was right now. She snapped out of her thoughts when Green entered her vision.

"Green!" Blue yelled. She stood utterly shocked for a few seconds at how different _she_ looked than normal. "What the sh*t did you do to my hair?!"

"I decided to give you a haircut, free of charge," Green replied in monotone. "Hair deemed too long. Obstructs vision. Recommended shortening to improve daily performance. Worry unnecessary. Hair will grow back to original length in time."

Blue clenched _his_ teeth. Green was talking like a machine just to piss her off now. At the same time, she found it surprising that her throat was even capable of monotone. She never tried it before, after all. But more importantly… Green did what?!

"You what?! Why?! It's not _your_ hair, damn it!" Blue then noticed something. "… Why are you limping? What did you do to me?!"

"Sparring with Crystal," Green replied. "Frail body. Incapable of proper and effective attacks. Diagnosis: strained ligament in right knee." He then showed _her_ arms to Blue. "Again, frail body. Incapable of efficient defense. Results: covered in bruises."

Blue gritted _his_ teeth and loomed up to her own body, as if she wanted to strangle Green. But doing such was stupid, as once this… predicament reversed and she was back in her own body, she'd be covered in technically self-inflicted bruises. So instead, she grabbed _her_ shoulders and furiously shook.

"GIVE ME MY BODY BACK!"

"I want to. Believe me, I would return your body if I could," Green answered ever so calmly. Now this calmness pissed Blue off. But at least he wasn't talking like an AI anymore.

While the two Dex Holders argued, Mew watched from high above, satisfied at the personal mayhem it caused. But it was bored with them now, so it decided to release them from their Heart Swap a little ahead of time. It appeared that the two Dex Holders would cause harm to each other now, and Mew knew that it wasn't worth the little enjoyment it was going to get from them.

Besides, it found a _much_ more interesting pair of victims…

* * *

><p><strong>Ending rushed to avoid an SA-class chapter (as in, very long).<strong>

**I already know what over half of you are going to say, so this note is prepared just for you. I am fully aware that Mew does not learn Heart Swap by normal means. I already covered this in a past story a long time ago, but I probably need to explain again, since it's unreasonable for me to expect everyone to remember some stuff I said on some story long time ago that even I don't remember. Some people don't read the other stories in S-EARL, evidenced by some reviewer deciding to tell me that I 'mixed up' the names of Green and Blue, which I covered pretty early on in SE. No, I didn't mix them up. Generation II/IV Kanto Gym Leader #8 may be called Blue in the English games, but switch over to the Japanese games, and he's Green. Remember, I don't give a f*ck about the **_**official**_** English translations. And for those who say Green is Blue and Blue is Green, there's a scene in FireRed/LeafGreen where Mewtwo gives a title drop upon seeing Red with Charizard and Green with Venusaur, even though in the **_**official**_** English translations, Green is called Blue. FireRed and Leaf…Blue?**

**Anyways, where was I… Oh right. Mew… It learns every TM/HM/Move Tutor Move of every damn Generation. That just proves that it can use every Move. Move availability is for game balance. And in some Pokédex, Mew is described to be able to use ANY Pokémon Move. And, even though S-EARL is not relying on game mechanics/accuracy, Mew CAN get **_**any **_**Sketch-able Moves in Generation II and Generation IV via glitches, including Heart Swap in IV (though who the hell uses Heart Swap?). For example, nothing stops me from getting a Mew with Spore, Shell Smash, Cosmic Power, and Baton Pass, without ever using a cheating device. Move availability/compatibility doesn't mean crap to me in regards to Mew, so don't say things like "oh, Mew can't get all those Moves in the games!".**

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**After an… incident with Platinum, some of the Dex Holders decide to put a shock collar dubbed "aggression inhibitor" on Sapphire to hamper her violent behavior and more importantly, stop her from swearing. Of course, this doesn't work as planned. And as Ruby finds out the hard way, Sapphire's way better off without the aggression inhibitor.**

* * *

><p>Post Ending:<p>

Next day…

Crystal woke up from her sleep when she felt something touch her cheek. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find an Oddish on her bed, fast asleep. She wondered why an Oddish would be in her room at all, but noticed something else. There were a _lot_ of Pokémon scattered around and fast asleep around her.

Curiously, there was a Typhlosion sleeping by the door. … Gold's Explotaro. Crystal felt around her arms. No bruises. She looked down at her own body. Not her body… With a creeping sensation, she ran towards the nearest mirror and looked. She saw… Gold. She was somehow in Gold's body. She pinched herself real hard. Nope, she wasn't dreaming. … Wait, if she was in Gold's body, that meant Gold was…

"Oh no…"


	23. Shock and Awe

**This chapter, along with the previous chapter, throws reality out the window.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 23: Shock and Awe<p>

The incident all began near the end of one of the Dex Holder meetings. Platinum was trying to pull a door open while at the same time, Gold was trying to push it from the other side. Gold got to the door first, and as a result, accidentally hit the heiress with it. More specifically, the edge of the door was slammed into the girl's foot.

"Ow!" the girl cried out in pain. "… F*ck!"

The moment she cried out, all the Dex Holders around her stopped what they were doing and all turned to stare at her.

"What… the… hell?!" Red muttered.

Blue stared at Platinum in utter disbelief. "… What did you just say?"

Platinum glanced at all the Dex Holders while hobbling on one foot, wondering why everyone was looking at her like that.

"Platinum," Crystal started. "Did you just… swear? Did _you_ just _swear_?"

Blue turned to glare at Red and his 'team'. Under normal circumstances, the 15 Dex Holders split off into 3 groups of 5, each led by a Kanto Dex Holder. Platinum was in Red's group/team, along with Gold, Sapphire, and Black.

"Red, Gold, Sapphire, and Black, stand in that side of the room," Blue ordered as she pointed at the opposite wall. When they all did as told, she crossed her arms and walked up to Black. "Black, explain yourself. Did you ever swear in front of Platinum?"

"N – No, ma'am!" Black quickly answered.

"Um… I can vouch for Black," White said from behind. "He doesn't swear much."

Blue looked over at Red. "I know you don't swear that much either. Which leaves Gold and Sapphire. Both of you have a history of lewd behaviors and crude language, and are generally quite rude. You two are a bad, _bad_ influence to Platinum."

"Blue, I promise I'll take care of Gold," Crystal said from behind. "I'll make sure he'll behave properly in front of Platinum from this point on."

"How are you going to punish him?" Blue asked.

Crystal didn't reply and instead, walked up to Gold, who avoided her eye contact. Without warning, she kicked him in the right knee, really hard.

"Ow, son of a-" Gold cried out. But before he could swear, Crystal kicked him in the other knee.

"Swear again, and guess where the third kick is going," Crystal said in a menacing tone.

Gold quickly fell silent. He did not want to get kicked down there by someone like Crystal…

"Now that leaves you, Sapphire," Blue said. "Ruby, are you going to do anything with her?"

"No," Ruby answered. "Are you kidding? She'll beat me up!"

Blue crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Sapphire avoided eye contact and took a nervous gulp.

"I'll think of something for you," Blue said eventually. "Until then, Platinum, you're going to have to face the consequences of you becoming like some of your teammates."

"Y – Yes, senior. If… if I may ask, what do you have in mind?" the heiress asked nervously.

Blue pointed at the corner of the room. "On your knees over there with your hands in the air. I'll give you something heavy to hold up. Maintain that position for 3 hours."

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Diamond asked.

"Platinum's father once came to me and requested for me to take good care of her," Blue said. "That involves making sure she does not become _anything_ like Gold or Sapphire. Luckily, her formality hasn't changed at all. But if she starts swearing and is allowed to do so, she'll become like them. And I can't let that happen."

"You know, we're still here," Gold said from the floor. "Couldn't you at least wait for us to get out of here before you badmouth us?"

"Quiet you," Crystal growled.

"Yes, ma'am…"

Next day, Blue had obtained her solution. With everyone gathered once again, she approached Sapphire with a large… collar. She put it on Sapphire's neck and adjusted it a little so while it wouldn't be too tight to hinder her breathing, it wouldn't be too loose either. Blue then pressed a button on a remote device and the collar emitted a single beep.

"So… what's this?" Sapphire asked.

"It's called a shock collar," Blue answered. "Also known as the aggression inhibitor. It'll zap you whenever you swear or do something violent. It'll actually zap you if you even _think_ something violent. Test it out."

"Um… no thanks."

"I'll test it then," Gold said from behind. With his billiard cue, he whacked Sapphire on the shoulder.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Sapphire yelled as she glared at Gold.

Ruby looked over at Blue. "I don't think it did anything."

Blue looked at the remote device. "Hold on. Let me adjust that."

"What?" Sapphire said as she looked over at Blue. "I can't even say (zap!) Ow! (zap!) Son of a (zap!)"

All the other Dex Holders stepped away from Sapphire as she dropped to her knees, constantly getting zapped by her shock collar. Every time she got shocked, she cursed, which resulted in another shock. Eventually, she fell onto the floor, rolling around, writhing in agony as she swore painful revenge. As a result, she was shocked some more.

"Looks like it works pretty well," Ruby commented. "We can't hear her swearing because she can't finish her curse without getting zapped."

"Blue!" Sapphire yelled. "Stop this (zap!) thing! This is so (zap!) unfair! And it hurts like (zap!) Ah!"

"And the best thing about this is that it will never stop working!" Blue said with a grin. "It powers itself with its own electric shocks, and those who try to tamper with it will also get shocked! Not to mention, it's completely waterproof and fireproof! So Ruby, take Sapphire back to Hoenn, and let me know how things went in a few days."

"Ruby," Sapphire said from the floor. She wasn't being shocked as she had managed to calm down. "Help me up."

Ruby reached down and grabbed her hand. The moment he pulled, Sapphire held onto his hand tight and clenched her teeth. A quick angry thought triggered the shock collar to zap her, which… also zapped Ruby.

"What the hell, Sapphire?!" Ruby yelled in pain through the shocking.

"Take that, you (zap!)"

Blue grinned as she watched the two Hoenn Dex Holders continuously getting zapped. "Oh, this is going to be fun!"

…

Three days later, Route 101, Hoenn…

…

Ruby entered the forest and took a brief look around the thick foliage. Sapphire was probably around somewhere. She could probably smell his perfume too, using her heightened senses. Now, the last time he tried to look for her in the forest, she ended up throwing a Bluk Berry at his clean hat and pushed him into a puddle of mud. Time for some payback…

"Hey, barbarian!" he yelled. "Get down here and take a look at civilization!"

As expected, he heard a zap coming from above and a short groan. With a satisfied grin, he tried again. And again. And again.

But perhaps that was one too many. After another zap, he heard another groan, but this time, followed by the sound of leaves rustling and branches snapping. He looked up and spotted Sapphire falling down to the ground, as the electric shocks prevented her from properly holding onto the branches. Before Ruby could even get to her, Sapphire was smashed through another thick branch and hit the ground hard.

"Oh no, I killed her!" Ruby quickly ran to her side and knelt on the ground beside her. He gently pulled Sapphire into his arms and shook her. "Hey, Sapphire, wake up!"

To his relief, the girl groaned and struggled to open her eyes. But within a few seconds she opened her eyes and instantly glared at him. "You bastard!" she roared in anger, causing her shock collar to zap her. But it didn't seem to affect her at all. Only Ruby was zapped. "You tried to kill me!"

"I didn't mean for you to fall off!" Ruby explained through the shocks. "But I'm glad you're okay!"

Sapphire reached up and pressed both of her hands onto his temples. "You bastard!"

"Stop shocking me!" Ruby yelled as he dropped to the ground while still carrying Sapphire. "Why aren't _you_ getting zapped?!"

The girl stopped with her angry thoughts and in that instant, the shock collar stopped with the electric shocks. She got up to her feet and felt around the device, and soon found a clue as to what happened. There was a fracture on the device, probably caused by either the many branches during her fall, or a rock during her impact with the ground. Either way, it seemed that the shock collar didn't harm her anymore. But the electric current still remained over the course of her body… Interesting…

While Ruby struggled up to his feet, Sapphire moved her hands so that her palms faced each other without making contact. As a test, she thought about punching Ruby in the face. And in that instant, blue electric shocks shot out from her fingers and collided with each other, forming a small blue electric ball between her palms for a few seconds before dissipating.

Ruby saw the electric ball. He then saw Sapphire starting to grin. He immediately jumped to his feet and ran. Sapphire chased after him with all her might.

"Get back here you asshole!" Sapphire yelled with blue electric current traveling around the course of her body. "I'm going to have some f*cking payback for the past few days!" She extended her arms towards Ruby. He was barely within grasp as he wasn't able to use his Running Shoes due to the partially muddy ground. With her palms facing his back, Sapphire thought of horrible revenge. And much to her joy, blue electric jolts shot out of her fingers and hit Ruby.

With a surprised and pained yelp, the boy fell to the ground, allowing Sapphire to crouch over him, effectively pinning him to the ground. Seeing her evil grin, Ruby started to plead.

"Sapphire, it wasn't my idea to put the shock collar on you."

"Doesn't matter! You were taking advantage of it!" Sapphire yelled. With some angry thoughts, she shocked Ruby mercilessly. "But I'm going to use this opportunity to get some answers."

"Wh – What kind of answers?"

"Mirage Island. Do you remember? Yes or no?" Sapphire demanded.

"Uh… I don't know what you're talking about."

"Wrong answer!" she yelled as she zapped Ruby with her short range Thundershock. But this time, she kept zapping him. "Say it! Tell me the truth!"

"Okay, okay!" Ruby cried out. "I remember! I remember!"

"Remember what?! Say it!"

"At Mirage Island! You said you liked me!" Ruby yelled. "You said you had to tell me there because you were afraid that I might return to Johto! You were afraid of losing me! And I said I liked you too!"

Sapphire stopped shocking him and let out a smirk. "So you do remember. Good."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief. "Ow… damn, that hurts… But yes, I remember. Now can I go?"

"No." Sapphire cracked her knuckles and glared at him. "Why did you pretend as if you forgot all about it?"

Ruby groaned. "Oh no…"

Sapphire roared in anger and unleashed her newly found electric powers on the poor boy. Of course she still liked him. That was never going to change. But he had to _pay_ for the years she spent wondering if he really did forget her confession.

…

Next day, Pallet Town, Kanto…

…

Blue hummed to herself as she made herself a nice lunch using Green's kitchen and supplies in his house. She was about to finish making the meal when her Pokégear started to ring. She powered the stove down and answered.

"Hello?"

"Uh… Blue?" came Ruby's voice.

"Hi, Ruby. So, how's Sapphire doing now?"

"She's worse than before!"

"Huh? How?"

"She fell off a tree yesterday and after the crash, the shock collar kind of… broke," Ruby answered. "It's malfunctioning and… she can now use Thundershock and Thunderpunch! Help me!"

Blue started to laugh. "Wow, really? Talk about a plan backfiring… wow!"

"This isn't the time to be awed!" Ruby yelled. "She wants revenge! She's trying to… … oh no, she learned _Zap Cannon_!"

"Well, there's really nothing I can do," Blue said dismissively. "The remote's signal isn't nearly as strong enough to reach Hoenn."

"Can't you come here and help?" Ruby asked. "There's no way I'll be able to take Sapphire back! She'll fry me alive on the way!"

"I _could_ go to Hoenn," Blue muttered. "But I promised White that I'll see her at her home in Aspertia so I could teach her a few things."

"… Can't you get someone to just bring that remote over here?"

"I like to keep my toys. You never know when things could backfire. Why don't you just wear insulating clothes?"

"Are you kidding?!" Ruby yelled even louder. "That'll completely ruin my fashion!"

Blue rolled her eyes. "Whatever. In that case, why don't you make a deal with her? I know Crys offered to take Gold on a date only if he doesn't swear or do anything rude for a whole week. Maybe you can…" Blue trailed off and looked at her food still on the frying pan. "Oh, I need to hang up now. My food's ready."

"What?! Blue, this is serio-"

Blue hung up and moved her food onto a plate. She resumed humming as she moved the plate to the dinner table and prepared to eat. She thought about what Ruby said and tried picturing an enraged Sapphire chasing after a terrified Ruby while shooting electricity from her hands. The image was too hilarious and she burst into laughter.

"Ah, now _that's_ a lover's quarrel."

…

Back in Hoenn, Ruby carefully approached Sapphire, who seemed to be practicing with her newly found technology boosted ability.

"Hey Ruby, check this out," she said with a grin. She moved her hands as if she was holding a large rock between them. '_Angry thoughts, violent thoughts, angry thoughts, angry thoughts, and…_'

Ruby watched nervously as a fist-sized blue electric ball formed in between Sapphire's palms. The girl kept her teeth clenched as she focused to keep the ball intact. With a loud curse, she thrust her hands forward, shooting the makeshift Zap Cannon forward, towards a tree. The electric ball hit the tree and sent electric shocks coursing throughout all of its branches, causing some unlucky Pokémon to get zapped as well. The ball itself burnt a small section around the impact zone. Sapphire rubbed the back of her neck as she watched various Wurmple and other small Pokémon fall off the tree and hit the ground from the sudden electric shock.

"… Oops," she muttered. "I guess I won't use that against a tree anymore."

'_Or me, hopefully…_' "Listen, Sapphire," Ruby said as he summoned his courage. "I'll offer you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" she asked as she turned to look at him.

"If you don't zap me for a whole week, I'll… take you out for dinner."

Sapphire crossed her arms as she began to think. "… How about you take me out for a dinner date, _then_ I won't shock you for a week. What do you say?"

"What guarantee do I have that you _won't_ shock me afterwards?"

Sapphire put her hands on her hips as she glared at him. "What, you don't trust me?"

"You spent all of yesterday and this morning shocking the hell out of me!" Ruby yelled. "You'll probably shock me the moment the dinner date ends!"

With clenched teeth, Sapphire raised a fist and held it in front of Ruby so he could see the electric jolts coursing around it. "You better trust me!"

"Threatening me with Thunderpunch doesn't convince me to believe you!"

Much to his joy and surprise, Sapphire lowered her fist and the electric jolts dissipated. "Tell you what. How about a compromise? I won't shock you for 3 days. At the end of that mark, you take me on a dinner date, and I won't shock you for another 3 days. How's that?"

"… Very well then. We have a deal." He extended his hand and Sapphire reached to shake it, in order to officially make the deal. But right before the two hands met, there was a slight jolt of electricity. "Ow! Damn it, Sapphire! What the hell?!"

"That was a static shock!" the girl yelled in defense.

"No it wasn't!"

"Yes it was!"

…

Back in Pallet Town, as Blue finished her lunch, a thought suddenly occurred.

"Maybe I should've told them that there's a secret "off" button on that shock collar," she muttered. She kept thinking about Sapphire chasing and shocking Ruby and grinned. "Nah, this is much more interesting."

* * *

><p><strong>I said this chapter threw reality out the window. And I mean it. But hey, comedic effect.<strong>

**And as mentioned in SL, I'm making a blind prediction that White's home is in Aspertia City.**

* * *

><p>Post Ending:<p>

3 days later, Slateport City, Hoenn, 10:30 pm…

"Ah, that was great!" Sapphire exclaimed as she stretched.

"I find it much more interesting that a date with a girl took place in an all-you-can-eat restaurant. _Normal_ girls don't really go there."

The girl turned to glare at him. "You're just begging me to shock you!"

"Hey, we had a deal!" Ruby said. "You can't shock me for three days!"

"I know. Relax, I'm not going to break that promise." She let out a short sigh. "But it's not fun if I can't zap anyone."

Just then, several people walked right in front of the two Hoenn Dex Holders, having come out of the dark alleys.

"Well, well! Looks like we have a couple of lovebirds on a date!" one of them said. "If you want to keep enjoying the night, I suggest you hand over all your valuables."

Sapphire looked over at Ruby. "But I can shock them, right?"

Ruby nodded and signaled her to go right ahead. "They're all yours. Have fun." He then took a step back and decided to watch the night's entertainment.

Sapphire cracked her knuckles and stared at the group of muggers. She started to grin as electricity began to spark around her fists. "Oh, you dumbasses are all f*cked!"

* * *

><p><strong>Next up (DHC):<br>****Gold wants to prove to Crystal that he's good enough for her. But when White hears of the claims, the argument escalates to a live competition that will determine which male Dex Holder is deemed the best. It's not quite what Gold had in mind, but perhaps this is his opportunity to prove himself to Crystal… or do the exact opposite.**


	24. DHC 006 Show Off

**As of the release of SY (yes, there's an SY now, changing S-EARL into S-EARLY), my profile has undergone a big change. Instead of the news that no one ever checks (even though they should for the sake of alerts), it now has various statistics of S-EARLY. Including ETA and update progress. Not entirely accurate, but better than nothing. It also lists the number of faithful reviewers of each story, and changes since the last update. For example, for SL, there will be a -6 added to that count upon its next update.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 24: Dex Holder Challenge Ep. 006: Show Off<p>

"Aw, come on, Super Serious Gal! Give me a chance!"

"… For the last time, Gold, _no_. And calling me that isn't going to change my mind."

White stopped just before opening the door. It seemed that Gold and Crystal were at it again. She only heard slight details before. Something about Gold asking Crystal for a date only to get rejected. White wanted to help, but without specifics, there wasn't anything she could do. But perhaps this was her chance to interfe… _help out_. Yes. _Help_. That's what Blue called it.

"Come on, Crys! Why won't you go out with me?" came Gold's voice from behind the door.

"If I'm going to go out with someone, I want someone responsible. Someone with _manners_. And someone who won't rush off head first into danger without a second thought. And someone with _brains_ would be nice too."

'_Ouch,_' White thought to herself. She then thought about Black and if he passed Crystal's 'conditions'. '_Let's see… Black… He's sometimes responsible. When his head's responding, anyways. His manners are kind of okay, I guess. … He does rush into danger head first, though. And he does have brains. But only when his mind hasn't crashed. So I guess he is good enough for me? Ah, it doesn't matter. I like him anyways._'

"So you're saying that I'm not good enough for you?" came Gold's voice. "Ouch, Crys. That's harsh."

"Well, sorry, but yeah. Especially compared to some of the other Dex Holders. Like Dia or Black."

"What?! I'm better than Dream Boy!"

'_No you're not,_' White muttered in her mind.

"No you're not," Crystal said from behind the door at the same time. "Sure, he's not _that_ great, but he's better than you."

"At least I'm not distracted _all the time_! And I have more objectives in life than just battling senior Red."

White shook her head and opened the door. She decided that she needed to intervene before the two Johto Dex Holders badmouthed Black even more than they already have. The moment she entered the room, both Johto Dex Holders turned to face her.

"Oh, hi, White," Crystal said with a warm smile.

"I… overheard your _discussion_," White said after clearing her throat.

"… You did?" Gold asked. "… How much did you hear?"

"Everything," the girl answered. "We'll… talk about why you think Black isn't _that_ great later. But first, I think I can settle your dispute."

"How?"

"In an episode of _Dex Holders' Challenge_, we can host a… competition to determine which male Dex Holder is the best. We won't mention any of this in there for the sake of privacy, but Gold, you can use that opportunity to prove to Crystal that you're good enough for her. And also, Crystal, you can use that opportunity to prove to Gold that he's not as good as Black. Depending on how things go, I suppose."

Crystal thought for a second before she shrugged. "I guess. But you're a member of that show too. Can you force such an idea?"

White sighed. "I may have been dragged into the shenanigans, but I still own that show and every employee works for me. So yes, I can. It's time I prove to those producers that they can't push _me_ around. I'm still their boss. Anyways, I'll think of the full details and discuss it with the others in the next female Dex Holder meeting."

…

3 weeks later, Celadon City, _Dex Holders' Challenge_ recording…

…

The 9 male Dex Holders found themselves seated in a curve in the center of a large circular room that was literally filled with girls. There were three giant screens around the room as well, so that everyone had a good view of at least one screen. Blue and White were seated in front of the male Dex Holders, with the rest of the female Dex Holders sitting behind them. While waiting for the camera crew to finish setting up, the male Dex Holders each did something different.

Red talked to Green about the most 'challenging' battle he had recently. Gold looked at the crowd of girls seated about the large circular room, checking which ones were pretty and which ones were flat-out ugly. Silver kept his eyes closed and pretended as if the crowd of girls wasn't there. Ruby checked the stitching on his gloves. Emerald was plotting something against Ruby with his Magic Hand Extensors while pretending to be dozing off. Diamond kept his eyes on Platinum, who kept her eyes on him. Pearl wrote new ideas for a comedy act on a notepad. And Black… appeared to be completely lost in thought, as he stared blankly at a floor tile roughly 5 meters away from him.

White shook her head. Black was distracted yet again. The lack of his Musharna constantly feeding on his dreams _really_ screwed with him at times.

Shortly, the PD gave White a hand signal, indicating that it was time. The girl cleared her throat and began with the program.

"Okay, everybody," she said, gaining the attention of all the Dex Holders and the 100 gathered girls in the room. "It's time to begin the… Dex Holder Home Shopping!"

"… What?" Green asked.

"We are going to determine, home shopping style, which male Dex Holder is the best candidate for a boyfriend! The audience is composed of 100 girls around my age who do not have a boyfriend yet. At the end of each segment, they will vote on the Dex Holder they feel would be the best. And while the show is on the air, those watching at home can log in to our homepage and 'purchase' the Dex Holder they want. Everyone can purchase exactly once, and each item as a limit of 10 000 purchases. And those Dex Holders who have _not_ been purchased 10 000 times will all receive a penalty."

"… This was your bright idea?" Gold asked in disbelief. "… Whatever! I'll show you all what a _great_ guy I am!"

"You will not be doing such a thing!" White said with a smile. "All of you have already made your appeals! And you'll see later."

"And that will be a surprise," Blue said from the side. "But first, it's time we did a basic introduction!"

"Item #1!" White said as she signaled Red to stand up. The Kanto champion did as told. "The winner of the 9th annual Pokémon League Tournament! An overall great guy who'd go out of his way to help you if you were in trouble. Though he is kind of reckless and… blind to a few things."

"Item #2!" Blue said once Red sat back down. Green reluctantly stood up. "The runner-up of the 9th annual Pokémon League Tournament and the current Viridian City Gym Leader! Though quite handsome and smart, he's really coldhearted and can be a complete jerk at times!"

"You're such an unbiased shopping host," Green commented in monotone as he sat back down.

"Like I said, a _complete_ jerk at times!"

"Item #3!" White yelled. Gold stood up and did a quick pose. "… Occupation unknown! … Feats unknown too! He's basically just some guy from New Bark Town!"

"Hey!" Gold yelled, glaring at the Unova Dex Holder. "For your information, I'm a-"

"Item #4!" Blue yelled, interrupting the goggled boy. Silver quietly rose to his feet and forced Gold to sit back down. Blue smiled and proceeded with the basic _unbiased_ introduction.

A few minutes later, all the male Dex Holders were 'introduced' and the first impression survey began. The male Dex Holders glanced around as the gathered 100 girls began with their vote using a small device they were given.

Green shook his head and sighed. "Out of all the stupid things I've been dragged into, this one has to be the worst of them all…"

"Don't say things like that, Green," Blue warned. "Though I suppose it _would_ be interesting if you were voted least likeable."

'Unfortunately', even with the 'bad' comment, Green wasn't voted least likeable. He ranked 3rd in the on-the-spot vote. Ruby was voted 1st with 26 votes. Gold was 2nd with 17. Green got 15, Diamond got 13, Red got 10, Silver 7, Pearl 6, Black 4, and last, Emerald with 2.

"Ha!" Gold yelled. "See that? Second place!"

White and Crystal silently groaned at the results. But the event was far from over.

Blue let out a short whistle. "Wow, interesting results. But this event has just started, so this ranking is bound to change! Now, a week ago, we asked quite a few girls and women on what they felt were the best about their boyfriends, and we've gathered the categories. First up is… manners!"

"According to our survey, one of the conditions of an ideal boyfriend is someone who will instinctively pull you out of danger and protect you," White added. "So let's see how the male Dex Holders did with this test!"

"… Did?" Red muttered. "We did these tests already? … When?"

The three giant screens suddenly started to play a video recording. In there, everyone could see Red and Platinum walking towards the hidden camera while inside a packed parking lot. Platinum was talking to Red and showed him a sheet of paper, thereby keeping his attention on her. Suddenly, a car drove dangerously close towards her from behind, at a speed much higher than recommended at a parking lot. Seeing the scene triggered memories from all the male Dex Holders.

"… Oh, _that_ day," Gold muttered. "That was all a planned stunt?"

The moment the car came close to Platinum and blared its horns, Red grabbed the heiress by her arm and pulled her to safety while keeping his eyes on the car.

"Oh, very good, Red," Blue said. "Flawless, I'll say."

After the first car drove off and the two Dex Holders resumed walking, another came by in a similar fashion. Again, when the car blared its horns, Red pulled Platinum away and eyed the vehicle. A score appeared on screen (as judged by the editors of _Dex Holders' Challenge_), indicating how well Red did in the test: 9/10.

"9/10? I'll take it," the Kanto champion said. "Even though I had absolutely no clue that this was going to happen, I guess I'm doing pretty good!"

The video screen faded to black before another one started. This time, Green was there instead of Red. Blue started at the screen attentively.

"Okay, Mr. Heartless," she said. "Let's see how you do!"

Green didn't respond to her comment, earning a frustrated "hmph" from the girl. In the video, Green walked while looking straight ahead, with Platinum talking to him. The hired stunt driver #1 drove the vehicle close again. But before the driver could honk the horn, Green grabbed Platinum's arm and roughly yanked her to the side, while still looking straight onward.

"Wow," White muttered. "You really are robotic. You didn't even need to _see_ the car."

"But it appears that you saved Platinum without really caring at all," Blue commented. "As if she was just some luggage." Again, Green didn't say anything. "… A complete jerk!"

Even in the second attempt, Green simply pulled Platinum out of danger without looking or caring. Score: 8/10.

"That's 8?" Gold said. "That doesn't make sense! He clearly doesn't care about Platinum! Isn't that kind of rude?!"

"He did save her before the danger even occurred," White said. "That's pretty good. But you're next, Gold. Let's see how _you_ did."

Soon, the screen showed Gold and Platinum walking in the parking lot, with the hired stunt driver's car coming up right behind them. Before the car could honk its horn, Gold glanced back and saw the car. Then, he simply stepped away, leaving Platinum alone in the path of the vehicle. The heiress glanced back and quickly stepped aside on her own. All the girls in the recording studio booed.

"Looks like you're not in the position to say Green's rude, Gold," White said with a smile.

"Hey, Platinum's not _my_ girlfriend!" Gold yelled in defense.

"Let's see if you could redeem yourself with the second test," Blue said.

Back in the screen, Gold and Platinum continued walking in the parking lot. The second car came, faster than the first, and blared its horn. Gold did pull Platinum out of the way of danger, but he showed his… ill manners once again.

"_Hey!"_ came his voice from the sound systems. _"Watch where you're driving you son of a (beep)! Are you (beep)ing blind?! What kind of a (beep)tard drives that (beep)ing fast in a (beep)ing parking lot?!"_ In the screen, Platinum decided to cover her ears with her hands so that she wouldn't have to hear the continuous stream of curses. Back in the recording studio, Gold looked away from the screens, rubbing the back of his neck. Score: 1/10.

"Oh my," Blue muttered. "So much for manners."

"I told you you're a bad influence to Platinum!" Crystal yelled.

However, as it turned out, the rest of the male Dex Holders weren't that great on manners either. Except Diamond and Pearl, as they were close friends of the heiress. Silver simply walked away alone, leaving the heiress to take care of herself (score: 2/10, as he didn't swear). A fact that Blue didn't take too kindly. Silver's explanation didn't help much either.

"Survival is self-served," the Johto Dex Holder said calmly.

"Is that what I taught you?" Blue asked with a sigh.

"Not really."

Ruby didn't pay attention to Platinum either. When the car honked its horns, he swiftly stepped to the side and the heiress had to run over to him on her own. Score: 2/10. Emerald did the exactly the same thing on his first test. But he had a technically 'valid' reason.

"Hey! She's taller than me!" the Hoenn Dex Holder yelled. "And I'm not exactly capable of pulling her anyways! I can push, but what good does that do?"

"That's… a fair point," White admitted.

Then Emerald's second test played on the screens and screwed him over. There, he avoided the car without any concern for Platinum, but then he proceeded to swear at the driver using language he picked up from Gold. Emerald watched himself on the screen and groaned. Score: 0/10.

"Oh, no… Crystal's going to kill me…"

White looked behind her and spotted Crystal shaking her head with a hand over her face. Seeing her, both Gold and Emerald looked down at the floor, sensing the doom that would befall on them once the recording ended.

Diamond's test went quite well. When the car came, he gently but quickly pulled Platinum away in a half-embrace, putting his own body in between the girl and the stuntman's car. He did the same thing for the second test, ensuring the safety of the heiress at all costs. Score: 10/10.

"Very impressive, Dia," Blue said with a smile. "You actually showed some manners unlike the Johto and Hoenn guys."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Gold yelled. "He _likes_ Platinum! He wouldn't have done the same if Bossy Gal was there instead! This is ridiculous!"

Pearl did similar to Diamond, though he didn't embrace the heiress like his friend did. Score: 9/10. Black, as it turned out, didn't even notice the car until it honked its horns three times: clear evidence that he was not paying any attention whatsoever to everything around him. In fact, Platinum had to push him out of the way… Score: 1/10. White let out a long sigh as she stared at that score. But at least the Unova boy didn't score less than Gold. That's… a start.

The next test determined overall friendliness. Again, the test results have been recorded over a week ago using hidden cameras and microphones. The situation was that each male Dex Holder was told that White needed him in a room where Blue and Crystal were yelling at each other and the camera and microphone recorded their reaction to the faked fight. The ideal reaction would be stopping the fight and calming both female Dex Holders as nice as possible, before White arrived to stop the staged fight. Red, Ruby, and Diamond did the ideal thing and calmed Blue and Crystal in their tests. The others… did not.

Green simply sat at a table near the two arguing Dex Holders and calmly began reading the news, as if he was completely unaware to the escalating arguments. Gold… watched the arguments with interest, thereby unintentionally forcing Blue and Crystal to yell at each other even louder and with harsher words, trying to prompt the goggled boy to do _something_. He did no such thing.

In Silver's test, the door opened and Blue and Crystal began to argue. Silver appeared in the open doorway, took a step into the room, saw the two girls yelling at each other, and promptly spun around on his heel and left. Emerald did similarly. The moment he saw his two seniors yelling, he immediately ran away, afraid that Crystal's wrath would somehow fall on him.

Pearl, ever the bystander, sat at the table and simply waited for Blue and Crystal to stop and for White to arrive. As always, he was going to just mind his own business and not get involved in a mess that he wasn't a part of. Black did the same thing as Green, and just scanned the newspaper for any Pokémon League related news.

After over 4 hours of continuous tests, both pre-recorded and done live (including singing, which _surprisingly_, Ruby was voted as the best), the time came for the final test. Having done horribly in all the other tests, Gold was determined to use the final test to prove his worth.

Unfortunately, the final test was intelligence related, much to his… disadvantage. Then again, maybe not…

"Okay, the final test is as follows," White said as she took a glance at her plans. "Each of you will be given 3 keywords or phrases and 30 seconds to make a viable news report with them. You'll be judged in your overall knowledge, completeness, and reaction. Good luck! Item #1, you're up first."

Red rose to his feet and stepped towards the center of the room. He stared at one of the three screens and soon, his keywords appeared: "Rock", "Fortree City", and "Quasar". For 10 of the 30 seconds given, the Kanto champion stared blankly at the screen, wondering what the hell a quasar was. Eventually, he came up with a feasible report about some rock in Fortree City, leaving the third keyword alone. Score: 5/10.

Item #2, Green, took over Red's spot. His keywords were "Visible Light Spectrum", "Language", and "Magikarp". Surprisingly (or not), Green was able to come up with a reasonable report about Magikarps having sophisticated language that are not detectable with human ears, and only a small portion can be recognized, like the visible light spectrum compared to the electromagnetic spectrum. Though perfect in terms of a news report (perhaps all that damn time spent reading the news helped), the Gym Leader didn't get a perfect score. Why? Because he sounded like a know-it-all smug jerk. Or so Blue claimed. Score: 8/10.

Gold soon took over Green's spot and looked at the screen on the wall. "Alright, I'm ready!" he yelled.

Crystal looked over at him and proceeded to pick the keywords for him. The keywords were "Disaster", "New Bark Town", and… "Idiot".

"Hey!" Gold yelled in anger. "What is this?! Super Serious Gal! This is clearly your doing!"

"And what if it was?" Crystal asked. "I'm not lying, you know."

"Oh, you think this is funny, don't you? And you call _me_ a jerk every now and then."

"Gold, you're wasting valuable time," Crystal warned, though she was laughing at his reactions. "Come on, try to use those keywords."

"How about I give _you_ keywords?!" Gold yelled. "Serious, Violet City, B-"

"Time's up!" White yelled.

Gold looked at the screen and saw his score of… 0. "Argh!" he growled in anger as he sat down on his seat. "This is going terrible!"

Once the rest of the male Dex Holders completed the test, it was time for the final on-the-spot vote for the best male Dex Holder. And Gold… wasn't looking forward to the results. His first-impression ranking of 2nd place was _definitely_ going to change.

Within a few minutes, the results were in. White looked at the results and appeared quite surprised.

"Oh, wow. _Lots_ of changes from the initial results!"

Blue took the results sheet from White. "Starting from the bottom! 9th place is… Emerald with 4 votes!"

The Hoenn Dex Holder shrugged. "It's still double what I had in the first vote."

"8th place goes to… Gold with 5!" White declared.

Gold groaned and smacked a hand onto his face. "From 2nd place all the way down to 8th…"

"7th place is Pearl with 6!"

Pearl smirked. "So… nothing changed with me, huh? Same place, same number of votes as the first impression."

White noticed that Black was ranked 6th with 8 votes. The results weren't _that_ great, but still, Black beat Gold! Ruby was voted 5th with 10, a _steep_ drop from the first vote. Silver was 4th with 12, Green 3rd with 16, and Red was voted 2nd with 18.

"And congratulations go to Diamond, who ranked 1st with a total of 21 votes!" Blue yelled as she started to clap.

The Sinnoh Dex Holder rose to his feet and bowed to the audience as they clapped and cheered. Platinum too, happily cheered for her friend, glad that he was voted most likeable. Which she agreed.

Now that the live votes were done, the _Dex Holders' Challenge_ recording soon ended and the audience filed out. All that was left for this event was the results of the online voting, which would come in at a later date.

As the various Dex Holders scattered to discuss the event, Crystal approached Gold who was staring at the floor with a blank look.

"Hey, Gold," she started in an apologetic tone.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the goggled boy grumbled out. "I'm not good enough for you. You proved that point quite well."

Crystal put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, I'm sorry for… sabotaging that last test. I really feel sorry for what happened. So as a way to make it up, how about I go on that date with you just once?"

Gold looked up at her. "… You mean a pity date?"

"Sure, if you want to call it that. I'd prefer… sympathy date."

"… Not helping with my feelings there, Super Serious Gal."

Crystal shrugged. "If you don't want to, then it's okay."

"No, no. I'll take the offer. Since you asked so nicely."

The girl smirked and shook her head. "Yeah. Since _I_ asked for this date over and over. I'll see you tomorrow night then. And you're buying."

* * *

><p><strong>Next up (non-DHC):<br>****A few Dex Holders decide to teach the others various life-skills. Diamond teaches the female Dex Holders how to cook, Ruby teaches them sewing, and Platinum teaches Gold, Sapphire, and Emerald to be formal! At the end of the lessons, the Dex Holders have a little test to see how much they've learned. Requirements for the tests? Nothing for the formality check, piles of band-aids for the sewing check, and… vomit buckets for the cooking tests. (Suggested by a reviewer).**


	25. Cook Off

**Note: S-EARL's Age Relations (Edition III) is confirmed to be inaccurate. However, S-EARL will continue using it due to their progress. SY and onwards will use the 4-Generations-accurate Edition IV.**

**Here's a not-that-important-yet-important note, as there has been some… repeated requests. For all of S-EARLY, there are **_**never**_** going to be any repeated created bad guys. If someone appeared as an antagonist (either a major bad guy or just some minor guy that's not being liked by any Dex Holder) in any of S-EARLY and that person was merely my creation, that character will **_**never**_** appear again in any of S-EARLY+ (+, for any possible future stuff). This includes L and D from SA, the unnamed kidnapper in SY, Crystal's 'rival' in SL, Platinum's murderer family in SE, and Platinum's rivaling heiress named Violet in SR.**

**The only created characters that will be constantly recycled are those that assist the Dex Holders. The hell raiser orphans from SA/SR/SL and the unnamed trainer (Dragon trainer in SA, shock trooper in SR) and his named sister from SA/SR. For the latter two, the bad guys associated with their back story will not appear in any of S-EARLY, as their appearance would always be after their resolution. This will be mentioned in SL/SY during their horribly minor appearance.**

**Also note: as mentioned several chapters ago, someone is translating two or more of S-EARLY into Vietnamese. Currently, SR #002: The Choice has been translated and posted somewhere called vnsharing, or so I'm told. So check that out if you wish.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 25: Cook Off<p>

"Alright Blue, what the hell do you have in plan for us this time?" Green asked as he glanced at the gathered Dex Holders.

"Not sure I like that tone and attitude," Blue commented. "But this is important. A recent consensus is that the Dex Holders are all well acquainted with battle tactics, but not with general life skills. And it's quite true. Apart from Dia, who knows how to cook? And apart from Ruby, who knows how to sew things together?"

"And not to mention the complete lack of etiquette in _some_ of the Dex Holders," Crystal said as she cast an accusing glance at Gold, Sapphire, and Emerald.

"Right. So I gathered you all here so we can learn and improve our skills," Blue said. "So, girls, we'll be learning how to cook and sew things from Dia and Ruby."

"And you three," Crystal said, pointing at the three troublemakers. "You are going to take lessons from Platinum about manners!"

"Alright then. Let's get started! We'll check the results of this endeavor in a week! Let's get going!"

…

Diamond stood in front of the 6 female Dex Holders, wondering what he should teach first. Starting with learning how to use the knife properly would result in a disaster. So he'd start with the ingredients. Learning how to use what ingredient at what instances was crucial.

"Okay, you all have a table in front of you filled with food ingredients just purchased by the Lady," he started. "Now, one of the most basic… Uh… Sapphire?"

The Hoenn Dex Holder looked up at her junior. "Hm?"

Diamond examined the Hoenn girl's table. "… The idea was for you to use that berry as an ingredient, not… eat it right now."

"Oh. Oops. Sorry."

Diamond rubbed the back of his neck. He decided to change his approach. "Alright then. Everyone, turn on your ovens and try to make something good using most of the ingredients you are given. I'll be tasting the samples myself. That way, I'll know what I can do to help you."

The female Dex Holders got to work and Diamond went around, giving tips and pointers. He started with Platinum, obviously. But his distraction with the heiress proved to be… disastrous.

Sapphire looked up from her bowl as she mixed ground berries and fruits. "… What's that burning smell?" She looked left and right and spotted the issue. "White, your hair's on fire!"

"Wh – What?!" White shrieked as she quickly spun around, trying to catch a glimpse of the tip of her hair. She could now feel the heat around her back as the fire grew a little bigger. "Ah! Put it out!"

"Don't worry! I'll beat the fire out!" Sapphire shouted. With one hand, she grabbed onto White's shoulder and with the other, began to pound the flame on the tip of the girl's hair.

"Ow! Ow! Just use water!" White yelped out.

Crystal decided to intervene and help out by pouring a large cup of water onto White's hair and back. Diamond simply watched the fiasco from afar, as he had no idea what to say in such a situation. Needless to say, this never happened before.

"Diamond," Platinum started. "Perhaps it would be best if you focused your attention on the less experienced."

"Right… Good idea."

The food produced by the Dex Holders varied. Blue's was quite good. She only needed to fine-tune her cooking skills. Yellow's was undercooked. Crystal didn't get to finish making her sample. Sapphire's was completely burnt to a crisp. Platinum's was great. Evidently, Diamond's constant lessons really helped out. And White's was half burnt and half undercooked.

Diamond decided to give a step-by-step lesson of making a fruit cake. He would show the female Dex Holders the complete process of making his cake, and allow them to mimic his steps. Hopefully, this will show the experienced Dex Holders what they are missing, and the completely inexperienced ones the basics of cooking.

He began with washing the fruits with cold water. Nothing could _possibly_ go wrong here. And nothing did. Next, he showed the female Dex Holders how to properly mix the batter. This somehow managed to cause trouble.

Sapphire's super aggressive mixing splattered some of the half-liquid all around the area, making the floor quite slippery. At the same time, Yellow proceeded to walk over to the side of the room so that she may pick a different batter. As she walked, she slipped on the slippery floor just as Sapphire lifted her bowl in order to see if anything got on the bottom of the bowl. Yellow fell into Sapphire, effectively pushing her into the table and _throwing_ her bowl in the same direction. The bowl and the batter fell directly onto Platinum's head, covering the heiress in head to toe with the half-mixed batter.

Diamond groaned and put a hand over his face. This was going to be a LONG cooking session.

An hour later, the created mess had been cleaned up and the cooking practice continued. As it turned out, someone messed up something somewhere in every possible cooking lesson. Yellow and Platinum accidentally cut themselves while slicing fruits, Sapphire set her cake on fire by baking it for too long, White baked her cake with the batter still in the bowl, Crystal baked her cake along with pieces of fruit instead of putting them on the cake _after_ baking, Blue burned her fingers while removing the baked cake, etc.

Diamond stared wordlessly at the miserable failures and wondered how the hell the female Dex Holders were going to fare in the cooking competition in the end.

…

Ruby's sewing lessons had the similar result. Some of the girls were proficient at sewing. Others… no.

Blue and Crystal were okay. Yellow couldn't seem to get the string through the needle even _with_ the tools provided, Sapphire and Platinum kept accidentally poking themselves with the needles, to the point where the heiress had to put band-aids on six of her fingers. White took way too much precaution and thus didn't accomplish much.

Ruby didn't pay particular attention to the failures. He was quite busy bickering with Sapphire, anyways. Besides, he knew that there was nothing to be accomplished from teaching properly. No one was really going to learn anything. Especially not Sapphire. Those who already knew how to sew a little wouldn't really benefit much from the lessons anyways.

…

Platinum nervously stood in front of Gold, Sapphire, and Emerald, wondering how she would teach them to behave properly. Since she was younger than all three, the lessons would be awkward. But at least Diamond and Pearl were standing with her as assistants.

"Um… I believe the best way to… improve manners is to make it purely instinctive," she started. "Simply knowing the best method of response is insufficient when instinct takes over. So… to begin…" Platinum cleared her throat as she thought of a scenario. "Okay. Suppose there is someone who is sitting in front of you and you have to ask that person to make room so that you may pass. And you are in a hurry. What would you say and how?"

Diamond and Pearl took the hint and sat down in front of Gold, Sapphire, and Emerald, while facing away from them. Gold was up first.

"Hey, get out of the way!" the goggled boy yelled.

Platinum shook her head and wrote down her evaluation on a notepad. She wasn't able to criticize or punish any of her seniors, so she would just write down the results and let Crystal take care of it.

"Move your ass and get out of my way!" Sapphire yelled out. "I'm in a hurry!"

Emerald simply pushed the two Sinnoh Dex Holders out of his way instead of asking/ordering.

Platinum shook her head again. "Basic manners and habits should not be dependent on who you are talking to," she said as she approached the three rude Dex Holders. "For example, if seniors Red and Green were sitting here instead, would you say the same things as you did with Diamond and Pearl?"

"Of course not!" Gold yelled. "They'll kill me!"

"Perhaps a demonstration is needed?" Emerald suggested.

Platinum didn't have any objections, so she agreed. She approached her two seated friends from behind.

"Excuse me," she started politely. "May I request a passage through?"

The heiress turned around and noticed that none of her seniors were really paying any attention. So she got Gold to follow her example and try again.

"Excuse me," Gold said rather politely. Surprisingly. "May I request you move your ass and let me through?"

Platinum let out a sigh as she wrote down the results once again. Teaching or simply passing her manners and etiquettes was going to be far more difficult than she had ever imagined…

…

Eventually, after many, _many_ complications, the week had passed. The 15 Dex Holders all gathered in the massive kitchen of the Berlitz Mansion, where the cooking competition will take place.

All 6 female Dex Holders worked in the kitchen while the male Dex Holders waited in the dining area.

"Damn it I'm hungry," Gold muttered. "Where's the food? I didn't starve myself on the trip here only to starve here too!"

"And what's this bucket for?" Emerald asked as he picked up a large metal bucket under his seat. Every seat had a bucket, apparently.

"Well… some of the foods made are bound to be horrible," Diamond said. "Depending on your preference, obviously. The buckets are there so you're not forced to swallow whatever's in your mouth."

The male Dex Holders glanced at each other. So the food was going to be that bad?

Red cleared his throat. "Uh… Look. The girls are going to put a lot of effort into their cooking. And we don't want to hurt their feelings, right? So… no matter how terrible the food is, we have to say that it's good. Especially if we don't know whose food we'll be trying."

Just then, the servants of the Berlitz Mansion entered the dining room from the kitchen, carrying multiple dishes of food. The female Dex Holders followed and sat down on the dinner table. The male Dex Holders nervously looked at the plates of food being set down in front of them. Some of them glanced back and forth between the girls and the plates, trying to determine which plates were made by whom.

Red started to eat first. Taking the first bullet, so to speak. The plate in front of him was made by Sapphire. But he didn't know. The moment the food touched his tongue, his reaction was immediate.

"Oh, damn!" he groaned as he spat out the contents in his mouth into his bucket. He quickly scanned the expressions of the female Dex Holders. "I – I mean… … uh…" He glanced back at the food on his plate. "… Damn it!"

It was Green's turn now, so he let out a sigh and put a spoonful in his mouth. He did not chew yet. Instead, he checked the reactions of the girls. 5 of them were feigning interest. 1 had genuine interest. But which one? Ah, it didn't matter.

Green chewed and swallowed, showing absolutely no reaction.

"So… how is it?" Crystal asked.

Green looked over at her. So did she make this? "It's acceptable."

"Is that good or bad?" Sapphire asked. "Be more like Red! … Even if he hated my cooking!"

"That was yours?" Red muttered. "… Sorry."

It was now Gold's turn. And he grinned. "Okay, I think I got this one. If senior Red got Wildchild Girl's and senior Green got Super Serious Gal's, then it's clear that we get food from whoever's in our group or team! So that means the plate in front of me was made by either Wildchild Girl or Platinum. Right? Which means, regardless of my reactions, you can't do anything to me! I'm your senior! Ha!"

Gold put a small portion of the food into his mouth and chewed. He chewed several times, trying to find the right words to point out the flaws. Having found the words, he pulled up his bucket and spat out the contents in his mouth into it.

"Terrible!" he spat out. "Absolutely terrible! You know, when someone is as starving as I am, _anything_ is bound to taste good. But this is just freaking terrible!"

After giving his horrible review of the food, Gold scanned the expressions of Sapphire and Platinum. Surprisingly, neither seemed to be remotely bothered by his comments. Gold scanned the expressions of Crystal and White. Again, neither cared. Then this meant…

"Gold," Blue said calmly. "I'll talk to you after this is over to discuss your review of the food that I put so much effort into creating."

"… Uh oh… I'm screwed…"

Silver picked up his bucket and smashed it into Gold's head. "You'll pay for insulting sis's effort!"

In Silver's turn, he ended up tasting Crystal's food. Following Green's example, he kept his mouth shut. He refused to say anything, in the remote chance that he'd insult Blue's or Crystal's effort. Anyone else's, he didn't mind criticizing. But doing such with Blue's or Crystal's work resulted in horrible, painful doom; the same doom that would befall on Gold in an hour or so.

Ruby and Emerald ended up with White's work. Ruby kept all negative thoughts to himself as he forced the foul stuff in his mouth down his throat. Emerald spat it out and dumped the contents of his plate into his bucket. There was no way in hell he was going to continue eating.

Since Diamond was the one who taught the female Dex Holders how to cook, he was exempt from tasting the results. He could tell which plate was the effort of which Dex Holder, which would make this 'blind' tasting rather pointless.

Pearl got Yellow's work. Luckily for him, it was pretty good. Seeing his positive reaction, the unlucky male Dex Holders charged over and stole the 'good' food from the Sinnoh Dex Holder. Only Black, Green, and Silver remained in their seats. Black had yet to taste his food, and Green and Silver were maintaining their composure.

Once the food raid ended, Black cleared his throat and prepared to taste the food on his plate. It was prepared by Platinum, not that he knew. He carefully put a small portion of food in his mouth. The starving unlucky Dex Holders (including Pearl, whose food was stolen) all stared at him, gauging his reaction. Black eyed them nervously and… swallowed. He quickly grabbed his plate and made a run for it. The unlucky Dex Holders chased him, trying to steal his food.

Yellow and Platinum gave each other a smile. Only the food they prepared had positive reactions. Crystal… didn't know. Silver and Green remained perfectly quiet, slowly munching on the food she prepared for them. She couldn't tell if the food was good and the two Dex Holders were only restraining themselves, or the food was crap and they were just forcing it down. Maybe she'll interrogate Silver later on and find out which.

Platinum watched as the male Dex Holders returned to their seats. Black staggered behind them, having been caught and gotten his food robbed.

"If I knew everyone would like my food so much, I would have prepared some more," she muttered rather happily.

Yellow nodded in agreement. Some of the other girls glared at those who spat out their efforts. The others simply looked down in shame.

"Give me that plate," Blue said to Gold, pointing at the food she prepared. "I know the food isn't perfect, but I know it's not bad!" Upon receiving the plate, she quickly tried a portion. And she started to cough.

"See what I mean?" Gold asked with a laugh. He stopped laughing when Blue and Silver both glared at him.

"… Yeah… I see," Blue coughed out.

"Surely the food cannot be that bad," Platinum said as she took a plate of food that no one was bothering to touch (Sapphire's creation). She ate a small portion and regretted her decision.

"Terrible, right?" Red asked.

The heiress didn't say anything, but nodded in agreement. Sapphire jumped to her feet and glared at her.

"Hey! That was _my_ creation! Show some respect!"

Yellow raised a hand into the air to try to stop the oncoming argument. "Okay, listen! We have to agree that some of us are not good at cooking. But still, we can't throw out all the bad food. That would be hurtful and wasteful. So one of us is going to have to eat all of this."

All 15 Dex Holders stood in their respective generations so that they could all have a game of rock-papers-scissors. The loser of each group would then gather and play again, determining the one final loser who would have to eat all the terrible food. It was only 7 plates of terrible food. It wasn't _that_ much of an endeavor. Especially considering how little food was on each plate.

Red lost the game for the Kanto group. Crystal for Johto, Ruby for Hoenn, Pearl for Sinnoh, and Black for Unova. The final game of rock-papers-scissors forced Black to eat all the terrible food.

"Oh, come on!" the Unova Dex Holder yelled. "I get all the good food stolen and I'm forced to deal with the leftover crap?!"

"Black, my food is in there," White said sadly from behind.

Black put a hand over his face. "… Crap." He quickly turned to look at her. "I – I mean… uh… … crap…"

While the Unova Dex Holder dealt with all the terrible food (along with a pitcher of water), the other Dex Holders gathered for the manner test of Gold, Sapphire, and Emerald.

"So how are we going to test this?" Red asked.

"Simple," Blue said. "Sorry, Platinum."

"I beg your pardon?" the heiress said as she turned to look at her senior. Just then, Blue kicked her in the knee. "Ah! Senior, that hurt! Please give me a warning next time…"

Ruby nodded. "I see what you're trying to do." Without warning, he kicked Sapphire in the knee.

"Ow! You bastard!" the girl yelled in anger. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shook furiously. "What's wrong with you?!"

At the same time, Silver kicked Gold in the knee. The goggled boy jumped in pain, but the moment he recovered, he jumped at Silver, engaging him in a fight within a large ball of dust.

Diamond and Pearl kicked Emerald in his Platform Shoes, making the Hoenn Dex Holder wobble for balance. Instead of saying anything, Emerald repeatedly smacked both Sinnoh Dex Holders across the face with his fake hands in retaliation.

Crystal shook her head and looked over at Platinum, who was busy rubbing the knee which Blue kicked.

"So… you didn't really accomplish anything, huh?"

Platinum looked a little ashamed as she nodded. "…I have tried my best, but…" She took out her notepad from her bag. "This is my progress report, if you wish to take a look."

Just as Crystal received the notepad, Black let out a shout from behind, indicating that he was done forcing the crappy food down his throat. Some of the female Dex Holders' tempers flared at his implications.

"Hey! It's not like you can do any better!" White yelled.

"Yeah! Why don't _you_ try cooking?!" Sapphire demanded.

Blue snapped her fingers. "Alright then! Let's change roles! This time, all you males will get cooking lessons from Dia."

Crystal cleared her throat. "And Gold, Sapphire, Emerald, _I'll_ be teaching you manners and etiquette this time. If you still don't show any progress, you'll be forced to become a servant in this mansion for a month." She looked over at Platinum. "Is that okay?"

"If you insist, I can discuss with my mother and father. But I do not see a reason as to why your suggestion will not be accepted."

"Hear that? You'll be forced to become servants for a whole month. So prepare yourselves!" Crystal yelled at the three rude Dex Holders.

"… Do we get paid?" Emerald asked.

"No!"

…

As the Dex Holders began to file out of the Berlitz Mansion, a thought occurred and Blue turned to face Crystal.

"Wait. If all the guys are going to take cooking lessons from Dia," she started. "… Does that mean _we'll_ have to taste their food?"

Crystal nodded. "Yeah. Isn't that what you had in mind?"

"… Do you think the boys will do better than us?"

"… No." The Johto girl's expression hardened as she realized the problem. "…Oh…"

"I think we screwed ourselves over," Blue said with a sigh. "All we can do is hope that the guys do better than us."

But sadly, that was not going to happen. Other than a small handful, most of the male Dex Holders have never actually made a meal in their lives…

* * *

><p><strong>Ending rushed as usual. Sewing check removed to reduce length and 'clutter'.<strong>

**The next chapter will be the start of another 3-chapter series that's a part of a 3-series… series. No, it's nothing like the Containment series. No zombie apocalypse. Though another mass-death is tempting… That'll be for the future, not the upcoming series-series. Not all 9 chapters will be uploaded in a chain. The first series will be uploaded first, and the others will come a few chapters afterwards, depending on the results.**

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**In order to enhance cooperation and boost friendship, Red team goes on a no-Pokémon vacation to Four Island by boat. But an accident causes the 5 Dex Holders to be stranded on an uncharted island, where they must survive and escape on their own without having massive personality clashes.**


	26. Survival Red Part 1

**To avoid receiving comments/messages that point out something that I already covered a long, LONG time ago, I have compiled all the covered information and posted it on my profile. This message will appear in the beginning of the updates of all of S-EARLY.**

**Alert: SR's Age Relations has updated to Edition III.5. Yes, III.5. I know, it makes no sense. But that's because Edition IV already exists. If III.5 has to be updated again, it'll become III.75. Then III.875. And so on and so forth. But I see no reason to update it, because Rakutsu and Faitsu (or Lack-two and Whi-two, if you want to use the stupid names. I won't, though) will not be appearing in stories that are using Edition III.5 (or anything below IV).**

**(WARNING: BW2 SPOILER) Or would-be spoilers, if this update didn't take 3.5 months. Black and White do not get BW2 attires. BW2 player characters are separate people (END SPOILER). Meaning, Black and White will appear from this point on wearing their actual clothes, and White's hometown is no longer Aspertia. It is now unknown.**

**And, just like SL, SR has not seen an update in over 3 months. Though SL was updated relatively recently, SR is… well, updated now. I'm sure there were concerns on whether SR was randomly discontinued. Like I posted on SL, if any stories were to be discontinued, I would give the alert a couple of chapters prior to the point of discontinuation. The same message will also appear on my profile page. So… relax. SR is not going to be discontinued any time soon.**

**Anyways, welcome to the Survival series. Similar to the Containment series in that this is a minor series that can stand on its own. Unlike Containment, this series will not feature space zombies. This is the start of the Survival – Red series, which is the three-chapter segment featuring Red team (Red, Gold, Sapphire, Platinum, Black). Meaning, there are 6 other planned chapters for the Survival series, featuring Green and Blue teams separately. Assuming things go according to plan. If not, the hell with the other Survival series plans.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 26: Survival – Red Part 1<p>

May 30, Vermillion City, Kanto, 12 pm…

Platinum sat on a bench near the Vermillion City harbor, waiting for the other Dex Holders to arrive. The big day was here. The no-Pokémon camping trip around 6 Island of the Sevii Islands was about to start. With Emerald's birthday coming up the very next day, Platinum had decided to send him and his team members on a similar research/vacation to the Meteor Falls. Emerald would have his vacation. Green and Crystal would have their research. And Yellow and Pearl were just tagging along.

With Blue's birthday coming up right after, the heiress had sent her and her team members on another similar trip to the north. Past Snowpoint City of Sinnoh, where Blue would be able to see the aurora borealis. It would be very, very cold. Even in summer. But the experience was bound to be worth it.

Having been left out of the birthday rush, Platinum decided to go on a camping trip to 6 Island with the rest of Red team so that she could better bond with them. Currently, apart from Red, Platinum felt a bit awkward around the other Dex Holders. This trip aimed to fix that. It was a no-Pokémon trip for that same purpose. Forced cooperation. There was no Pokémon aid or Pokémon talking buddies. All forms of communication had to be with another Dex Holder of the same team.

The heiress looked up from the map she brought and spotted the other four Dex Holders approaching. Red, Gold, and Sapphire were busy talking to each other while Black followed quietly. So the Unova Dex Holder had similar issues.

"Seniors! Over here!" the heiress shouted as she waved her arms.

"Hey, Platinum. Ready to go?" Red asked as he walked over.

"Yes, senior."

"When does the ship leave?" Black asked.

"In a little over an hour," Platinum replied.

"Hey, I'm getting hungry. Want to go eat lunch first?" Sapphire suggested.

"I think we have enough time," Gold said. "So let's go!"

Throughout the meal, Platinum noted the different types of conversations going between the other Dex Holders and the frequency. So far, the communication was good. At this rate, everyone would be able to develop much stronger friendship with one another by the time the camping trip ended.

…

5 hours later…

…

Sapphire glared at Gold across the small food table in the cafeteria of the ship. She extended a fist and Gold extended his. In exactly 3 seconds, Sapphire drew paper, Gold drew scissors.

"Damn," Sapphire muttered. She leaned forward a little and Gold flicked her on the forehead before eating a piece of finely cooked meat on the large plate that was set between them.

The two Dex Holders had another round. Gold won again. Sapphire clenched her teeth and proceeded to play another round. Gold steadily extended a fist but suddenly froze.

"Hey, what's that over there?" he asked as he pointed past Sapphire.

The girl looked back and in that instant, Gold ate 7 pieces of the cooked meat. When Sapphire looked over at the table again, Gold had already swallowed and put on an innocent expression. But the girl knew what happened…

After another unsuccessful round, Sapphire tried to do what Gold pulled off. She quickly looked over at the right with a surprised expression. "Whoa! What the hell is that?!"

From another table to the right of Sapphire's, Red looked over at the direction of the Hoenn Dex Holder, having heard her voice.

"Huh?"

Sapphire quickly put a hand over her mouth. "Oops. Sorry, Red. I didn't mean anything."

Red blinked a couple of times before resuming eating. In the meantime, Gold had completely cleared the plate full of meat. Sapphire glanced at the plate and quickly rose to her feet in anger, forcibly knocking her chair over.

"You jerk!"

Gold laughed as he took a drink from his cup of water. Just then, the entire ship started to shake violently, enough to knock over everyone standing and knock over several tables and chairs.

"Whoa! What the hell? … Something about this is _really_ familiar!" Gold muttered as he tried to get back up. The ship let out a large cracking sound and shook even more violently. A sudden realization made Gold let out a long groan. "Damn it! Abandon ship!"

Sapphire got to her feet but another sudden crack knocked her down again. "We can't! The ship's shaking too much!"

"Argh! Not again!" Gold yelled as the floor started to crack apart.

"Hey, is everyone accounted for?" Red asked as he forced his body up with the help of a table.

Sapphire looked around. She spotted Black by the knocked over buffet table, trying to crawl his way over. "… I think so, yeah!"

"Hey, where's Platinum?" Red asked.

"… Oh. Never mind!"

"I think she went downstairs to the library!" Black yelled out.

"You three! Get to evacuation! I'll go get Platinum!" Red yelled out. He ran/hobbled to the stairs and climbed down, fighting through hordes of panicking people.

"You heard the man! Move!" Gold yelled out.

Sapphire glanced at the stairs heading up to the floor above. There were way too many people cramming it. "I don't think we can get upstairs!"

"Gold, you've been in this situation before. How did you get out the last time?" Black asked.

"Well, I blasted a hole in the side with Explotaro and… Damn this no-Pokémon trip!" Gold quickly thought of a solution. "Ah, I got it!"

The goggled boy made his way towards the cafeteria's kitchen and started to collect multiple liquor bottles. Sapphire and Black understood his intentions and helped in collecting all sorts of flammable liquids, including liquor and cooking oil. They poured all the liquid into a barrel and Sapphire carried that barrel towards the wall farthest from all the panicking people. While Gold and Black took cover behind a thick flipped table, Sapphire took a wooden chair leg, lit it on fire using the kitchen tools and threw it at the barrel. She quickly took cover next to Gold and Black as the wooden barrel caught on fire.

"Fire in the hole!" Gold yelled out.

The barrel soon exploded with a loud bang, sending flaming wooden shrapnel all over the place. Surprisingly, no one got hurt by the makeshift fusion of an incendiary and fragmentation grenade.

The wall remained intact. The carpeted floor caught on fire though.

"Well, that went amazingly!" Black yelled sarcastically.

"Yeah! It _really_ helped us out!" Sapphire added as the floor fire started to spread. "You _did_ know that the ship hull is made of steel, right?"

"Hey, shut up!"

Meanwhile, Red fought through the crowd and got to the floor directly below the cafeteria, where the library was located. Since everyone else seemed to have evacuated to the floors above, finding Platinum was going to be easy.

"Platinum!" Red yelled out. "Where are you?"

Without waiting for a response, he proceeded to run in a random direction. But he soon heard Platinum's response and ran towards the source.

"Senior! Please help!"

When Red arrived at the library, he didn't see Platinum. Instead, he saw a whole bunch of bookshelves that toppled over. Which mean, the heiress was probably crushed underneath one. He soon spotted a hand sticking out between collapsed bookshelves and quickly ran over. He pushed one off and found Platinum. The heiress didn't seem hurt at all, but another bookshelf had her pinned down by her legs. Red pushed that one off and pulled Platinum to her feet.

"You okay?"

"Y – Yes. Thank you very much."

Red started to run again and Platinum followed. But she took a single step before letting out a yelp as she fell to a knee. The Kanto champion glanced back and saw the girl clutching at her left knee while trying to get back up. He pulled her up again and supported her from the side as he proceeded to escape the library again.

Directly upstairs, Gold, Sapphire, and Black tried to make their way towards the stairs, which was still clogged with hordes of people. But before they could get there, the floor fire spread in a way that formed a wall of flames between them and the only point of exit. Sapphire and Black gave Gold an exasperated look.

"This is so not fair," Gold muttered. "Why does nothing ever work out for me?"

Something from the kitchen exploded. The three Dex Holders quickly hid behind a toppled table. The ship shook even more violently as the floor started to split open…

Before long, all the lifeboats rowed away from the ship as the vessel sank. The sea of debris was going to make things difficult for the lifeboats, so they all stayed away.

From the wreckage, Sapphire surfaced and took a couple of seconds to regain her breath. When the ship split in half, she lost sight of Gold and Black. So far, she had no idea if any of the other Dex Holders were alive. That needed to change. She quickly swam towards a large wooden board floating around, presumably a former piece of a floor. After pulling herself up and making sure it was buoyant enough to withstand the weight of a few more people, she stood up and looked all around her, sniffing at the air occasionally.

She suddenly heard a splash coming from afar. With a smaller wooden board in hand, Sapphire began to row the makeshift raft towards the splash. She soon spotted Red trying to stay afloat with one hand and trying to keep Platinum's head out of the water with the other.

"Sapphire, I need some help here," he said upon spotting the Hoenn Dex Holder.

Sapphire quickly pulled up Red and Platinum out of the water. The three Dex Holders began to search for the other two, and soon found them floating on small pieces of wood. Sapphire sat down once everyone was on the large wooden board.

"Okay, so everyone's intact. Now what?" Red asked.

Sapphire looked off to the right. "I saw the lifeboats all heading that way. We should follow them."

Platinum lightly shook her head. "Senior, we are all drenched right now. We might experience hypothermia before we reach them. Also, the water current is pushing us away from the lifeboats. I think our best course of action is to find someplace where we can build a fire and shelter."

Sapphire thought for a second before nodding. "You're probably right. I can't even see the lifeboats right now anyways."

Gold let out a long sigh. "In that case… we should get to the nearest island. Another one for me, might I add…"

"Then that's what we're going to do," Red decided. "That island over there seems to be the closest, so we'll go there."

The Dex Holders began to row their makeshift raft towards the only island that didn't seem to be miles away. Their 'rows' were simple pieces of wood, so this was going to take some time.

"Gold," Sapphire started. "… Do you follow ships that are going to sink, or do ships just sink whenever you're on board?"

"Ah, shut it."

…

Day 1…

…

An hour later, the Dex Holders arrived at the island. Luckily for them, the sun was still bright and strong, thus allowing their clothes to dry, and therefore avoid hypothermia. Once the makeshift raft hit the shore, the Dex Holders got off and dragged the raft onto the sand, in case they needed it for the future.

The Dex Holders first checked over what they had. All of their stuff were lost, except for the bags they carried with them and whatever was inside.

"Alright, now what?" Red asked. "Suggestions?"

"I think we need to first see if this place has anyone living in it," Sapphire said. "Or if it really is an uninhabited island. So we should climb that small mountain right there," she said, pointing at the mountain relatively nearby.

Gold nodded. "Yeah. I think that's our best bet."

Platinum kept a hand on her left knee, but raised the other hand to object. "Seniors, I understand the importance of finding civilization and the means of returning home, but I do not think exploring this island is the best course of action at the moment. Soon, the sun will be down. We have to build a fire by then, and we need to build portable shelters before nightfall."

Red thought for a few seconds before making his decision. "Okay. Platinum, you stay here and work on the fire and shelter. Black, help her. The rest of us are going to climb that mountain."

Platinum wanted to object again, but chose not to as she realized that it would not make any difference. She watched Red, Gold, and Sapphire head towards the mountain before turning to face Black.

"Okay. We will need to build a temporary and portable shelter. We do not know if our current location has any dangers, but changing camping locations at the moment is dangerous. So I would appreciate it if you would collect as many giant leaves as possible from the forest, with the stems intact."

"No problem."

The two Dex Holders headed towards the forest. Black was in the lead and Platinum trailed behind, trying her best to keep up. Her left knee was starting to swell up a little from when the bookshelf fell onto it during the shipwreck.

"Do you have a knife with you?" Platinum asked. "I believe someone agreed to bring a small pocket knife for general purposes."

"No. I think Gold has it," Black answered.

Platinum sighed. "In that case, I will have to collect wood manually…"

A few minutes later, the heiress returned to the area she designated to be the camp zone, carrying a handful of wooden sticks and several smaller twigs. She carefully sat down on the ground and set the sticks and twigs in front of her. But before she could build a fire, something else had to be taken care of first.

Platinum gently lowered her left sock to expose the knee. It was swelling. It wasn't serious, but it was hindering her movement quite a bit. And it hurt to move it too. So Platinum took off her scarf and gently wrapped it around the knee as a makeshift bandage. Afterwards, she prepared to make the fire.

It took her almost half an hour, but she managed to create a small fire and kept it growing by feeding it small twigs and eventually the wooden sticks. Once the fire was strong and Black returned with a huge pile of giant leaves, the heiress asked him to collect long wooden sticks and lengths of vine. She felt bad for ordering him around, but since it wasn't easy for her to move, she had no choice.

While Black gathered the ordered material, Platinum made sure the fire remained strong and that there weren't any risks of the fire spreading everywhere. The Unova Dex Holder soon delivered several look wooden sticks and several lengths of vine. He then returned to the forest to collect more, leaving the heiress to work with them all alone.

Platinum looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set, so she had to hurry. She first stripped the bark off the wooden sticks and broke off the twigs. She put those into the fire and arranged the stripped wooden sticks into grid patterns. The sticks were quite long (almost her own height), so stripping them bare took quite some time and arranging them into a grid and tying them with the vines took even longer. By the time she finished making the grid pattern stable, the sun had set.

Platinum proceeded to wrap the giant leaves' stems around the sticks to create shades and primitive windshields. Black saw what she was doing and mimicked her creations.

When Red, Gold, and Sapphire returned from the mountain, Platinum and Black had just finished creating one makeshift tent using two of the leaf-laden wooden grids. The three Dex Holders were all carrying lots of thick and long wooden sticks in their arms.

"Senior, did you find anything?" Platinum asked.

Red shook his head. "No. By the time we got close to the top, it was too dark to continue. We only managed to come back because we could see the fire you built."

"But at least we brought all this stuff with us," Gold said. The three Dex Holders set the wooden sticks down in a pile next to the makeshift tent. They then placed all their bags next to the pile so they could rest comfortably.

Sapphire stared at the built shelter. "… That's your idea of a shelter? I thought you were going to use logs or something. If there's wind, that thing's just going to fly away! And you only made one? What were you doing this whole time?"

Platinum didn't say anything. Instead, she just looked down at her fingers. Thanks to the light created by the fire, she could see the blood on her fingertips. Her fingers were currently bare from having to strip the rough wood without any tools, and they really hurt. Sapphire's words hurt more, but the heiress chose not to focus on them. After all, her senior did return from a tiring trip to the mountain which didn't yield any results.

Sapphire seemed to have realized how harsh she sounded too. "Um… Sorry, Platinum. I guess I'm just a bit upset because the trip to the mountain didn't go anywhere. Great work on the shelter."

Platinum forced herself to smile. "Thank you, senior…"

Red looked at the makeshift tent. "I'm guessing that our current shelter can hold at most 3."

"Seniors, you must be exhausted and cold from the journey to the mountain. I suggest you sleep inside the shelter. Junior Black and I are warm thanks to the fire and we are not tired yet."

"Are you sure?" Red asked.

"Yes. It will only be for a night, after all."

"Well, if you say so," Gold said. He crawled into the built tent. The heiress had placed several large leaves as the floor of the tent, and thanks to the number of the leaves, it was quite comfortable. "Wow, this is great!"

Sapphire entered the tent as well and pushed Gold to the side. She took up the center position, leaving enough room for Red. "Hey, this is actually really comfortable!"

Once the three Dex Holders were sleeping comfortably inside the tent, Black placed the remaining giant leaves next to each other to create a makeshift ground cover that he could sleep on. He used his jacket as a blanket and went to sleep as well, leaving the heiress all alone.

Platinum let out a long sigh and stared at the fire. Since she wasn't wearing any thick clothes, she didn't have anything she could use as a blanket. Since all the giant leaves were used up, she had no choice but to sleep on the cold ground.

She shook her head. No. she wasn't going to sleep. Not when there was so much she could do for the good of everyone. Platinum silently crawled towards Gold's bag and searched through its contents until she found the pocket knife the goggled boy had brought for this trip. She then made her way towards the pile of sticks and proceeded to strip them bare.

Platinum glanced at the pile of sticks and then at the moon. The moon was still high in the sky, and the pile of sticks was still pretty big. Meaning, she had a long night of solitary work ahead of her. And the fight for survival on this island was just getting started.

* * *

><p><strong>That's right. Gold was involved in yet another shipwreck and got stranded on yet another damn island. As mentioned by Gold. First SE, then SA, now SR. Poor bastard.<strong>

**And another version of the Platinum vs. Sapphire enmity in S-EARLY has appeared. Unlike in SY, in which both girls are to blame for the fight, in SR, it'll mostly be Sapphire's fault. Creates balance with SL's version, in which Platinum is to blame. Given their actual personalities, it's unlikely that they will get into a serious fight. So, in SR, Sapphire's personality will be slightly altered (in SL, Platinum's is altered; in SY, they're both altered) to make this fight possible.**

**Next up:  
><strong>**Sapphire doesn't like the fact that Platinum is disagreeing with everything she says, even though the heiress is only doing her best to ensure everyone survives. A confrontation is inevitable. And in a situation where cooperation is key to survival, a hostile confrontation will be disastrous…**

**Only read the below for my take on the whole meat issue in the Pokémon world.**

**For this series, the discussion of the whole meat issue in the Pokémon world is inevitable. Pokémon eat other Pokémon, as described in the Pokédex. While it's entirely possible that people would eat Pokémon too, here in SR, that will… not happen. The whole "ethical" crap is annoying and therefore will be avoided, but I don't give a damn about that issue. Eating Pokémon is impractical. No one will try to catch a pig for food if it fights back with FIRE (good luck in trying to roast a Tepig… if it's roasting you back). And in SR's case, trying to eat Pokémon itself is hell of a lot more dangerous and difficult than in real life. It's hard to catch any food source if they all fight back really hard.**

**Now, looking **_**way**_** too deep into this issue, it's most likely that real life animals and stuff exist in the Pokémon world. All plants that appear are living things, but only a tiny, **_**tiny**_** portion are Pokémon. The flowers, for example. Not all flowers are going to be Gloom or Vileplume (no one will like them in that case). And what exactly spreads the regular flower pollen/seed? Bees? Considering the only bees are Beedrill or Combee (and Vespiquen) and neither really gather honey from flowers (Beedrills are too big and Combee is too flat), that doesn't seem likely. So there are bound to be actual bees out there. And the whole food chain. If we get a Pokémon that's more or less a **_**fruit**_** (it can happen, if we have cotton candy and ice cream/sundae Pokémon)… does that mean people will suddenly stop eating berries and stuff? Then what **_**would**_** they eat? Can't eat plants (grass being Oddish, trees being either Sudowoodo or that Generation VI tree thing, etc) or animals because they're all Pokémon. … Each other? And not to mention the Pokémon classifications that are actual animals. Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon. Which means, there are actual lizards out there that gave Charmander that classification in the first place.**

**And when you consider what happens when a body starts to decay, and the fact that the bugs created are not going to be Pokémon (unless we get some maggot and fly Pokémon in Generation VI), there's additional proof that there are going to be non-Pokémon in the Pokémon world. Unless bodies don't rot, which would mean the Pokémon world will eventually be filled to the brim with bodies (natural deaths, food chain reasons, miscellaneous) that were not buried that aren't going anywhere, ever.**

**See, this is why at various points in S-EARLY, multiple "reality" mechanics are ignored. NEVER look too deep into these issues. … You're not **_**supposed**_** to look deeply into these things.**


	27. Indoctrination

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 27: Survival – Red Part 2<p>

May 31, unknown location. Day 2…

When the Dex Holders woke up, they noticed quite a lot of differences. For starters, there were a _lot_ of makeshift tents set up. There was one when they went to sleep. There were four when they woke up.

"Whoa," Red muttered as he crawled out of the makeshift tent.

"Who did all this?" Sapphire asked as she crawled out after him.

Black sat up from where he slept and looked around. He spotted Platinum lying on her side next to the fire, still asleep. He signaled the other Dex Holders to let them know that the heiress was still sleeping.

Sapphire rose to her feet and crossed her arms. "What, still asleep? Come on, we have lots of stuff to do today!"

The Hoenn Dex Holder marched towards her junior and forcefully shook her awake, completely unaware that the heiress had spent all night making those extra tents and therefore getting only an hour of sleep.

"Hey, wake up!" Sapphire yelled.

Platinum forcefully opened her eyes and slowly sat up. She was still very tired. Her eyes felt really dry and kept closing on their own. But still, she pinched herself awake.

"Who made all these?" Gold asked as he observed the newly constructed tents.

Platinum slowly raised a hand.

"You?" Sapphire muttered. "Well… great work. In that case, try to get some more rest."

The heiress shook her head and forced herself to stand up. "No… I… I am okay…"

Red cleared his throat. "Alright, listen up! This is what we're going to do. First, we'll ! #$#%#

…

* * *

><p><strong>I <strong>**interrupt the Survival – Red team series to bring you this special chapter.**

**Yes, I pulled off an SA move here.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 27: Indoctrination<p>

Aspertia City, Unova, 11 am…

A school bus started to move away from the Trainer's School, carrying all of its students. They were going on a field trip, once more to the Pokéstar Studios. Cheren's intentions were different than the last time. This time, he had a… special guest doing a 'motivational' speech. And a bunch of nasty surprises for a select few of his students.

Faitsu stared through the windows of the moving bus. Another field trip… After the 'disastrous' one last time, she was determined to stay invisible this time.

'_Note to self: __**stay in the back of the group**__. __**Do not**__ appear in another movie, __**especially**__ with __**him**_.'

"Well, well! Looks like there's always an empty seat beside you!" came an annoyingly familiar voice.

'_Oh, no…_' She quickly looked over to her side and spotted Rakutsu leaning over.

"You don't mind if I sit here again, do you?" he asked with a bright smile.

"I – I… um…" the girl stammered out, trying to find some viable method of refusing to sit with him again. But when he flashed her one of his 'trademark' charming smiles, her tongue got tied and couldn't talk anymore.

"Thanks!"

Despite the protest of Faitsu's Foongus, Rakutsu sat in the empty seat, sitting a bit too close to the girl for her comfort. She didn't hate him. She didn't have any negative feelings towards him. He was kind, strong, and damned handsome. But damn it, he was popular. And she had to remain as anonymous as possible. But wherever Mr. Popular here went, a whole ton of attention followed.

"Ah, you're so lucky!" all the other girls shouted. "He sat beside you again?"

'_Lucky? I don't feel lucky…_' Faitsu avoided eye contact and looked through the window. Her Foongus tried to push Rakutsu away, but he kept inching towards her. '_This is a bad start…_' She risked a glance at him. He was looking directly at her. '_Okay… focus. I can't let my guard down. I can't let him know me!_'

"Hey, Faitsu, want to be in another movie with me?" Rakutsu asked. "It was fun last time, wasn't it?"

Faitsu jumped in surprise. "Wh – What? N – No, I… um… I don't think I'm… um… good enough…"

"What? Nonsense! You did great! Better than great!" '_4 months and I still don't know anything about her… Is she hiding something? Process of elimination makes her the ex-Plasma member I've been hunting…_'

"No, seriously, though…"

Rakutsu placed a hand on top of hers, on her lap. The girl's cheeks immediately flushed. "Hey, is something wrong? You look a little sick."

Faitsu jumped up. "Y – Yes! I… have been sick for a little bit," she quickly lied. She faked a few coughs. '_Surely this would…_'

Rakutsu put an arm around her, much to her horror. "You know what helps overcome cold? Heat."

'_No, no, no, no, no!_' Faitsu stifled a groan and looked at the sky through the windows. '_Master N… __**help me!**__ Seriously! I can't take this much longer…_'

"As fellow Pokédex owners," Rakutsu said. "We have a certain responsibility to take care of each other and know each other."

'_Stupid thing… I knew this thing would haunt me some day… Why did that Sigilyph have to be so weak?!_'

The bus soon arrived at its destination and Faitsu immediately looked for an opportunity to get off. Since she had the window seat, Rakutsu needed to get off first. But he didn't seem to budge. He kept trying to talk to her. Faitsu couldn't figuratively spit at a smiling face, so she replied, but in short responses.

Rakutsu didn't move until everyone else had gotten off. And even then, he insisted in assisting Faitsu off the bus. Totally unnecessary, as she wasn't physically handicapped!

Faitsu let out a shuddering sigh the moment she got off the bus. Hopefully, Rakutsu would now leave her alone and she'd be able to stay invisible.

An employee of the Pokéstar Studios greeted the students.

"Welcome back to the Pokéstar Studios! Miss Event Planner told me that she had something special planned for all of you!"

Suddenly, Rakutsu and Faitsu's Pokédex began to emit a loud beeping noise once every half second. Rakutsu stared at his Pokédex, wondering why it did that. Faitsu panicked as half of the students looked over at her.

'_No, no, no! Shut up, you stupid thing!_' Faitsu quickly pressed all sorts of buttons on her Pokédex in an attempt to silence it.

The employee continued regardless. "Now then, if you would follow me, please."

The employee then headed into the main show room and the students began to file in. Rakutsu and Faitsu were with them. But as they passed the entrance, someone was waiting for them. It was a girl looking a few years older than them. She had bright blue eyes and long brown hair tied into a large ponytail.

"Ah, you two, follow me," she said. "There's something special planned for you."

'_Oh, no!_' "I – I didn't mean to cause a disturbance," Faitsu quickly explained. "I don't know why that device suddenly made that noise!"

"It's okay," the older girl said with a smile. "Don't worry about it."

The three continued to walk for a few minutes. Rakutsu noticed that they were walking past a filming stage. So they weren't selected for another movie. Drat. He wouldn't mind filming another hit movie with Faitsu…

As they walked in a narrow hallway, the lights suddenly went out.

"Huh," the older girl muttered. "I wonder what happened. A blackout?" She looked at the two Dex Holders, barely recognizable thanks to the faint light emitting from the emergency exit signs. "Stay close so you don't get lost."

Rakutsu took out a Pokéball and pressed a button. Nothing happened. "Faitsu," he said. "Stay close. Pokéballs aren't working. This place has been hit with an EMP."

Faitsu took out her Pokéball and noticed that it didn't work either. '_Oh, no… what now?_'

The older girl opened a door and came across a large room that was barely illuminated. The three walked inside, looking around in an attempt to identify objects inside.

The door suddenly shut on its own. Faitsu jumped in surprise. The older girl looked surprised as well.

"… Something happened," she muttered. "We have to get out of here."

Something suddenly dropped from above in front of the older girl. It was humanoid in shape, but completely red with no distinguishable eyes, mouths, or any features. … It had one eye, but on the stomach. The older girl shrieked in surprise. Faitsu jumped in horror and Rakutsu instinctively pushed her away from danger.

The red monster growled and struck the older girl in the stomach. The girl gasped and fell to her knees. The red monster struck her again and she fell to the ground. Much to the two Dex Holders' horror, the older girl began to turn into one of those monsters and got back up.

"Wh – What's happening?!" Faitsu cried out.

"Faitsu, run!" Rakutsu yelled out. "I'll hold these monsters off!"

Faitsu hesitated. She didn't want to leave a friend behind. And it appeared that she couldn't anyways. All around them, more of the red monsters appeared. She quickly counted them. There were 15 in total and were all walking towards her.

Faitsu screamed in terror as the monsters swarmed her. Rakutsu embraced her as she raised her arms over her face. Both Dex Holders braced themselves…

… But nothing happened. Faitsu risked opening her eyes. To her horror, one of the red monsters was standing right in front of her. The monster's face began to melt off… and revealed the older girl who had just become one of the monsters.

"Surprise!" the girl yelled out cheerfully.

"… What?"

All the lights in the room turned on, brightly illuminating the entire place. Rakutsu and Faitsu stared at the red monsters with a blank look as they all began to pull off their heads. Rakutsu looked at the wall of the room and spotted a poster with the same red monster and the title of "Red Fog of Terror".

"… Movie costumes?"

An older looking girl with bright blue eyes and long brown hair smiled brightly as she walked up towards the two confused Dex Holders.

"Rakutsu and Faitsu, right?" she asked.

The two Dex Holders nodded, but still kept their guards up. The older girl smiled.

"My name is Blue. I'm a Kanto Dex Holder."

The girl with the large ponytail smiled as well as her monster costume finished melting off and revealed itself to be Ditto. "I'm White. I'm the president of the BW Agency, the Event Planner of Pokéstar Studios, and one of the Unova Dex Holders. Just like you."

"… What's going on?" Faitsu asked as she steadily lowered her guard.

White suddenly sighed. "… I know how you feel. I've gone through the same thing as you. This is called… indoctrination. Or as Blue would say it…"

"Declaration of shenanigans," Blue said with a smile. She glanced back and began to introduce each of the Dex Holders.

Gold approached the two new Unova Dex Holders. "Congratulations! You are now one of us!"

Blue cleared her throat. "Rakutsu, Faitsu, as the newest Dex Holders, you are now a part of our group. As of the event today, you are now an acceptable target for various jokes, pranks, and tricks by the Dex Holders, and you will also be involved in all the shenanigans that we cause. Congratulations!"

White clapped her hands together and Black approached her with a camera. White took it and examined through the recording. "I think we can use this in an upcoming movie. Such _real_ emotions! Such great_ acting_!"

All the Dex Holders applauded the great 'acting'. Red stopped clapping and looked at his fellow Dex Holders.

"Hey, come on. We met our newest juniors, so let's all get something to eat!"

As all the Dex Holders began filing out of the stage, Faitsu stared at her Pokédex in despair. All this… shenanigans, all this attention caused by this thing. '_Stupid thing… what have you gotten me into now?_'

…

Vaniville Town, Kalos, 10 am…

…

Inside a dark room, a boy remained lying on his bed, staring at the clock. The second hand slowly made its way back to the very top and the minute hand moved to the next increment when it did.

"3… 2… 1…" the boy suddenly counted. The moment he counted to 0…

"GOOD MORNING, X!" came a loud, _loud_ female voice from directly outside his bedroom window.

"Right on time," X muttered.

"Come on, get out of there!" the girl yelled out again. "I got some interesting news!"

"Not interested," X replied. "Why, oh why, won't you leave me alone, Y?"

"Nice wording, smartass," the girl said with a huff. "But get out of there! I got something to show you!"

X didn't say anything. He simply counted backwards from 10. And when he got to 0 again…

"GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" Y screamed as she began to kick the windows. "Don't make me go in there!"

X rolled his eyes and looked at the curtained windows. He could see his childhood friend's slim silhouette… kicking the crap out of the window frame. How could a girl deemed so pretty harbor such violence? He once decided to open the windows at this time. He regretted that decision, as he ended up getting kicked in the face. For someone who spent most of her time in the air, without using her legs, she had some powerful kicks. Do Sky Trainers need to have such powerful kicks?

"Say something! Anything!" Y yelled out.

X sighed. "… Something. Anything."

He could hear Y roar in anger and her kicks became stronger. "GET OUT OF THERE!"

'_She'll be getting tired pretty soon…_'

On cue, Y stopped kicking. "… X, don't you miss the days when we all used to travel together?"

"The last time that happened, my house _crumbled apart_," X replied.

"But didn't we have fun?"

'_Maybe a little…_'

"Come on, you can't live in your own for the rest of your life. What about all your friends? What about me?" Y sighed. "Come out, X. I promise, if you don't have fun this time, I'll…" she suddenly trailed off and X could see her silhouette turning to look at something in the distance. "… What's that?"

X felt the urge to open the curtains and look through the windows. But he chose not to. It's probably one of Y's tricks to lure him outside. Or at least close to the windows so she could drag him outside by using violent force. He was against violence, damn it.

X watched the silhouette of his childhood friend. The girl kept looking off to the side. Suddenly, something flew at her really fast and hit her in the chest.

"Ah!" Y cried out in pain. X jumped in surprise. He observed her silhouette carefully. Y kept her hands on her chest as she began to stagger. "X… help…"

Another small object flew at her again and hit her once more. The girl toppled forward, effectively smashing the top half of her body into the windows. The windows opened inwards, but the glass still shattered upon contact with Y's shoulders. The girl forced herself up. When she did, X could see two sharp leaves sticking out of her chest. She had countless cuts all over her skin from the fall through the windows, but the sharp leaves seemed to be causing the most pain.

"X… get out of here! Run!" she gasped out. She soon staggered backwards and fell off the roof of the first floor.

X was about to move when he heard loud footsteps coming from the inside of the house. He quickly grabbed his Pokéballs and jumped out through the smashed windows.

"Damn it, not again," he muttered. He jumped down and spotted Y lying face down on the ground. He went to her side and just as he was about to reach for her, something hit the ground next to him and everything instantly went dark.

When X woke up, he found himself tied to a tree branch in such a way that if the rope binding him was to be removed, he'd fall flat on his face.

"… What the…"

Someone suddenly came into his view. To his surprise, it was Y… She still had two sharp leaves sticking out of her chest and had lots of cuts all over her face and arms. But she didn't appear to be in any sort of pain.

"So _that's_ what it takes to get you out of that room," she muttered with a grin.

"What's going on?!"

Y smiled as she crossed her arms. "We have special guests!"

"What?!"

Y clapped her hands and lots of people began to appear from various hiding places. X watched all of them. He didn't recognize any of them.

An older looking girl stepped forward with a smile. "Hi, X. I'm Blue, a Kanto Dex Holder. Everyone behind me are all Dex Holders. From Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova. We're all here to welcome you and Y into our prestigious group." She then introduced them all to the two Kalos Dex Holders.

Y smiled and nodded. "See? I told you I had something interesting to show you. I warned you like 5 times to come out. You should've listened to me when I asked nicely."

"This is _not_ the best method to show me what you wanted me to see! And when did you ask nicely?!" X yelled. "… And is that a camera?!"

Y looked behind her and spotted White holding a camera. The Kalos Dex Holder narrowed her eyes, but soon lightened her expressions. White was no paparazzi. Just the head of a major filming company in Unova.

"Just filming your reactions," the Unova Dex Holder said with a smile. "… I know. I've been there too. Almost got a heart attack in my birthday, for crying out loud…" She cast a slight glare at Blue before focusing on her juniors. "I'll give the recorded video so you can see everything."

Y looked down at her body and pulled out the two sharp leaves… which were shot from Diamond's Torterra that had been given Wide Lens for pinpoint accuracy. Y then reached into her shirt and pulled out a thin but durable steel plate in which the Mach-One-and-Only-Razor-Leaf shots had hit.

Y rubbed her arms and eyed the cuts. She looked over at Blue with a slight frown. "I thought you said you replaced the windows with your Ditto."

"I did," Blue said. She looked over at X's house and noticed something. "… Oh, oops. Wrong window."

Y sighed. "At least you placed the soft landing pads in the right place."

"… What knocked me out?" X asked.

"A simple mix of Sleep Powder and Spore," Crystal answered. "Nothing harmless."

"I wanted to include Stun Spore, but apparently that makes it a not-so-harmless gas grenade," Gold said.

"I had to hold my breath so I wouldn't pass out," Y said. "This was all a thoroughly planned event to get you out of your damn room."

X looked at his predicament. "Including tying me up?"

Ruby shook his head. "No, that was just this particular barbarian's idea," he said as he glanced at Sapphire. "Something about you reminded her of me, apparently."

"Shut it, you sissy," Sapphire said as she began to untie her junior. X fell to the ground with a thud and slowly sat up while brushing away the dirt. "You're both the same! You were both once great trainers who lost their nerves and the will to keep training."

"At least Y here didn't turn into a complete savage," Ruby said with a smirk. "If X is like me then Y would be like you, but… she's civilized. You are not, my illiterate barbarian."

Sapphire's eyes twitched. "Why you little!" she roared as she chased Ruby. "Embarrass me in front of my new juniors, huh?!"

Y watched her two seniors for a few seconds before she helped X get back to his feet. "So, how do you feel?"

"How do you think?" X retorted. But he soon sighed. "I have no choice in this matter, do I?"

"Nope!" Blue said with a grin. "As the newest Dex Holders, you are now an acceptable target of _whatever_ shenanigans we plan! Congratulations!"

"… Fine, but one condition," X said.

"And that is?"

"No paparazzi."

Crystal smiled. "No problem. There are two Dex Holders who are extremely proficient in chasing away cameramen. No paparazzi will have the courage to follow you when you're with us."

Gold and Emerald gave each other a look. "Got your kit?" Gold asked.

Emerald nodded. He took out a small bag from his Platform Shoe and strapped it on. "Li'l Bastard Traveling Kit to the rescue!"

X sighed but smiled for the first time in a long while. "… That's acceptable, I guess. I'll give this group a try."

Y smiled and hugged her friend. "That's all we're asking for now."

"Y," X said.

"Yes?"

"Don't do something like this ever again."

"Only if you don't lock yourself up in that room of yours."

* * *

><p><strong>Special appearance by Rakutsu, Faitsu, X, and Y. Yay! Of course, personalities are extrapolated from given information. And X and Y technically aren't Dex Holders as of right now, but it's inevitable. … Behold! This is the first and last time in which the four new Dex Holders and their seniors gathered at the same time. And this is also the first and last time in which those four Dex Holders appeared in a story that's not using Age Relations Edition IV or higher (requires VI or higher). Hence it's a special appearance.<strong>

**But this special appearance has a purpose. Rakutsu, Faitsu, X, and Y are now 'unlocked' for appearance in my stories. Though Rakutsu and Faitsu have appeared in SE #040 as special guests, they are now free to appear as main characters. They have now been indoctrinated; accepted into this chaotic back-stabbing (only in DHC) group known as the Dex Holders, after the heart-attack inducing declaration of shenanigans. Again. But sadly, they won't be appearing in SR, as the story will not be using the required Age Relations. But they will appear elsewhere…**

**Now I return you to the regularly scheduled programming… er… chapter, Survival – Red Part 2… coming up next.**

**Next up:  
><strong>**What I just said above. And also what was listed in the previous chapter.**


	28. Survival Red Part 2

**Be sure to check my profile page for a very important update (check under Alternate Communications at the top of the page). Long story short, there are 2 possible ways to "follow" me outside this site. A buddy on Serebii forums, and my own Tumblr. Yay.**

**It took a long while for this chapter to get uploaded. Mainly because I was so hesitant. It's a little too… anti-Platinum. Like it's supposed to be.**

**Now, this particular series (Survival-Red) was not meant to be funny at all. It focused on Sapphire just bullying Platinum. But I decided that only having that "rivalry" was too much and added the humor aspects involving Gold and Sapphire. It should create balance with the (very) mean Sapphire vs. Platinum. Or, it'll just make this particular series seem all over the place.**

**Currently, there are a total of 8 series done/planned in SR, and none of them will be focusing on mindless humor. Containment, Survival – Red, Survival – Green, Survival – Blue, Composer, Breakout, Void, and Swarm, not necessarily in this order. So in any and all "series", don't expect a good laugh. Look for the said laugh in between those series. Again, SE/SL has the pairings, SA/SY has story structure, and SR has **_**everything else**_**, including zombie/machine apocalypse, survival, slaughter, mindless humor, and science-fiction invasion, among others. Images for these series have been on my Tumblr/blog thing since the beginning, so perhaps they will provide some insight (of course they will!).**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 28: Survival – Red Part 2<p>

May 31, unknown location. Day 2…

When the Dex Holders woke up, they noticed quite a lot of differences. For starters, there were a _lot_ of makeshift tents set up. There was one when they went to sleep. There were four when they woke up.

"Whoa," Red muttered as he crawled out of the makeshift tent.

"Who did all this?" Sapphire asked as she crawled out after him.

Black sat up from where he slept and looked around. He spotted Platinum lying on her side next to the fire, still asleep. He signaled the other Dex Holders to let them know that the heiress was still sleeping.

Sapphire rose to her feet and crossed her arms. "What, still asleep? Come on, we have lots of stuff to do today!"

The Hoenn Dex Holder marched towards her junior and forcefully shook her awake, completely unaware that the heiress had spent all night making those extra tents and therefore got only an hour of sleep.

"Hey, wake up!" Sapphire yelled.

Platinum forcefully opened her eyes and slowly sat up. She was still very tired. Her eyes felt really dry and kept closing on their own. But still, she pinched herself awake.

"Who made all these?" Gold asked as he observed the newly constructed tents.

Platinum slowly raised a hand.

"You?" Sapphire muttered. "Well… great work. In that case, try to get some more rest."

The heiress shook her head and forced herself to stand up. "No… I… I am okay…"

Red cleared his throat. "Alright, listen up! This is what we're going to do. First, we'll go back up to that mountain and see if we can determine whether this place is an island, peninsula, and whether it's populated or not."

"Alright, let's do it!" Sapphire yelled. "Let's get out of this place!"

Platinum raised a hand to object. "Senior, I believe our next best course of action is to search along the coastlines to see if there are any items that we may be able to use. There may be lost items or pieces of wreckage that will be vital for us."

"We won't need them if we find a way to get off this place," Sapphire said.

"But we will need supplies and materials to explore this place. Even if we find out that this place is habited, we will need enough food and water to get those habitants. Currently, we do not have anything."

The two girls held each other's stare for a few seconds before looking over at Red. The Kanto champion crossed his arms and thought for a while before making a decision.

"Sapphire, you and I will go up that mountain," he said. "Gold, Platinum, Black, stay here and search the coastlines."

Platinum sighed but nodded. Once Red and Sapphire left, the heiress began to hobble towards the shoreline.

"Hey Platinum," Gold called.

"Yes, senior?"

"Maybe you should just sit and rest," the goggled boy said. "Right now, it'll take you forever to search this coast. Dream Boy and I will do the searching. You just sit back and… do whatever."

The two boys didn't wait for the girl's response and began to search around the coastline. The heiress carefully sat down by the fire and massaged her knee.

"Please remember to bring _everything_ you can find!" she shouted to the two male Dex Holders.

Once the two were gone out of sight, Platinum glanced around the camp to see if there was anything she could do to help. She was very tired, but still, she had to help out.

Eventually, she made her decision and crawled towards Gold's bag, which he left behind. She took out his knife once again and proceeded to make the 5th makeshift tent. That way, every Dex Holder will be able to sleep by themselves.

By the time Red and Sapphire returned several hours later, Platinum had finished setting up the 5th tent and made herself a walking stick/crutch out of the remaining wood. She was currently sitting by the fire and spotted her seniors returning.

"Senior… did you find anything?" the heiress asked Red.

Sapphire sighed and shook her head. "No. This place is an island. And it doesn't seem like there's anyone else living here."

"Meaning," Red added. "We have to escape this island by ourselves."

Platinum let out a sigh. "I… see."

"Where's Gold and Black?" Sapphire asked.

"They should return shortly," the heiress answered. "They have left to search the coastlines for any materials that we may be able to use."

"Then what are you doing here?" Sapphire asked again.

Platinum appeared a bit embarrassed. "Senior Gold suggested I stay behind because I would not be efficient in salvaging for materials. As such, I have stayed behind to create one more tent."

"Good work," Red said with a warm smile. He gave her a pat on the back and went to sit in his tent.

Sapphire slightly narrowed her eyes. "Well, I assume you won't be efficient in many other things, huh?"

Platinum appeared a bit insulted and ashamed. She lowered her head and glared at her injured knee. "… I will try my hardest to help…"

Sapphire let out a smirk and sat down by the fire to warm herself up. Platinum kept her head down and slowly turned away from the fire.

Before long, Gold and Black returned, carrying all they could find. Gold found a box of kitchen utensils that was lost at sea and drifted to shore. Though many of its contents were lost while drifting, there was still useful stuff in there. Black found a bunch of bamboo from a forest near the coast. The two Dex Holders placed the materials into a pile in the middle of the camp.

Platinum still appeared insulted from what Sapphire said, but she still crawled towards the pile of stuff.

"Excellent find, senior," she said quietly to Gold as she checked over the pots and other stuff inside the damaged box. She then turned her attention to the pile of bamboo. "Where did you find these?"

"There was a forest of them near the coast," Black answered. "I just figured that they might be useful."

"Very good," Platinum said with a forced smile. Her fake smile quickly dropped. "These are very useful. We can make spears and other tools to defend ourselves, and we can even use a segment to make a primitive water filter if needed."

"Well then, better get started," Gold said. "I'm sure you know what to do."

Platinum cast a glance at Sapphire. "… Yes. I do."

Black reached into his pockets and took out some berries. "I also found these. There's a berry tree near the bamboo forest. There aren't a lot of berries on it, though."

"Very good," Red said. "If there's one berry tree, there's bound to be more. Black, lead the way. Sapphire, follow him and harvest as much as you can."

Sapphire jumped to her feet and took a large pot from the box Gold brought. With it in hand, she followed Black towards the berry tree.

…

Next day, Day 3…

…

Red gathered all the Dex Holders together once more. "Alright, folks. Day 3. Any suggestions for today?"

Sapphire immediately raised a hand. "Let's build a raft and figure out a way off this place! The faster we go home, the better!"

Once again, Platinum had a different suggestion. "I believe our best course of action is to stockpile our food and water reserves. We need to find a river or an equivalent to secure our source of drinking water, and we also need to start hunting for food."

"Right now, we can survive on berries," Sapphire said. "But not for too long. That's why we need to quickly build a raft and get out of here!"

Platinum let out a sigh. But still, she faced her senior and calmly replied. "Senior, we do not know how long we will have to travel on the raft. If we head out now, there is a large chance that we will run out of water and food long before we find rescue."

"And exactly how long do you intend to keep us on this damn place?" Sapphire demanded.

"… Are you suggesting that I am purposely keeping us here?" Platinum asked in surprise.

Red raised both his hands to calm the two girls. "Alright, enough. This is what we're going to do. We can't stay here for too long, so we have to escape as fast as possible. But, we have to make sure that we're all ready. So, Gold, Sapphire, you're on hunting duty. Find as many sources of food as you can manage. Black and I will start gathering wood and other stuff to create a raft. Platinum, see if you can find a source of drinkable water."

The other Dex Holders nodded and soon scattered to do their assigned tasks. Platinum let out a long sigh. If Red just listened to her advice, things would go much smoother. Dividing the roles just made everything progress slower…

But regardless, she did as told. With her walking stick, she headed into the forest to see if she could find a river or something. It was a good thing her knee had stopped aching.

Platinum searched the forests for a few hours, but didn't find anything. Instead, she got lost in the forest. She looked up at the sky. It wasn't darkening yet, but the sun was leaning towards the west. Soon, it'll get dark. Then she'd be royally screwed.

"Oh… what should I do?" the heiress muttered as she looked left and right. All she could see was the forest. And no one in the camp had the thought of putting wet leaves in the fire to create a signal smoke. Fantastic. "Maybe I should climb a tree?"

Platinum approached a relatively easy tree (lots of branches) and examined it. It looked sturdy enough to withstand her weight. As long as she didn't fall off, things would be okay. With a sigh, she grabbed onto the lowest branch and carefully pulled herself up. She then grabbed the next lowest branch and repeated the process until she was meters above the ground.

The heiress carefully embraced the tree itself as she stood on one of its thick branches. Falling probably meant death. Or at least a very painful crash. So she held onto the tree with her life.

"O – Okay… if there is a river nearby…"

The heiress began to look at her surroundings. Lots and lots of trees. And little else. Amazing. Platinum carefully rotated around the tree. She squinted and saw… a pond of some sort. Great! She glanced left and right and soon spotted something glowing orange. The fire! The heiress let out a sigh of relief. So she wasn't going to die lost in some forest on some island.

Platinum memorized the direction of the camp relative to the position of the sun. She then memorized the direction of the pond relative to the camp and the sun. Afterwards, she began to climb down the tree.

She climbed halfway down when she suddenly heard something right next to her head. Platinum immediately froze and her grip on the tree strengthened. With a nervous gulp, she slowly turned her head…

There was a large black bird on a branch nearby. And a nest. The heiress had missed it the first time because she climbed the tree from the opposite side.

"Oh, no…"

The black bird screeched and began to peck at her face. It believed that the girl was trying to steal its eggs from the nest.

Platinum quickly covered her face with an arm. "Ow! Ow! Stop it! I am not trying to attack your nest! Ah!" Of course, the bird didn't understand her and continued to peck and scratch at her with its talons. "Ow! Ow!"

Platinum decided that getting out of the nest's proximity was a top priority. With one arm, she grabbed onto the lower branch and climbed down. But because she couldn't see thanks to the bird, she missed her footing and slipped. She fell down the tree and suddenly felt a blinding pain from her left knee as she hit a thick branch on her way down. The branch had hit her left knee from below, almost dislocating it. She hit the ground shortly after, but thankfully, the ground was soft enough that it didn't really hurt. Just like falling from a huge height in Route 217. The huge depth of thick snow in that route compared to the thick layer of soil here. But that tree branch was rock solid.

"Ah!" the heiress cried out in pain as she clutched at her knee. She quickly willed away the forming tears and carefully tried moving her leg. She could still feel her foot, so her knee wasn't broken. Good. With a groan, she forced herself up and grabbed onto the walking stick she left next to the tree.

With clenched teeth, the girl began hobbling towards the direction of the camp. Even though she may have re-injured her knee, at least she found a possible source of water.

Halfway towards the camp, she heard something once again. And this one sent shivers up her spine. It sounded like a growl from a predator. Platinum quickly convinced herself that she was hearing things and doubled her pace towards the camp.

But she wasn't hearing things. The growl became louder. Leaves started to rustle… Platinum quickly ducked and rolled. She looked up and spotted a cougar glaring at her, having just missed its strike.

Platinum held onto her walking stick for protection as the cougar growled at her. She could feel her arms and legs weakening. But she forced herself strong and hastily rose to her feet.

The cougar growled and charged at her. The heiress shrieked as she quickly backed away. But her injured knee complained and she immediately fell backwards. She quickly held up her walking stick to whack the incoming predator in the face. The cougar growled in anger and bared its fangs.

Just then, a rock hit it in the side of the head, forcing it away from Platinum. The heiress quickly looked to the side and spotted Sapphire on all fours, growling with _her_ fangs bared. The cougar looked over at her and let out a roar. Sapphire let out a louder roar and charged forward. The cougar flinched and immediately fled.

Sapphire grinned and rose to her feet. "Sucker," she said as she brushed the dirt off of her gloves. She then looked over at Platinum, who was struggling to get back up. "Can't you do anything on your own?"

Platinum didn't respond and instead, began hobbling towards the camp site. Sapphire rolled her eyes and slowly followed. She smirked when she heard Platinum sniffling.

'_Hmph. So weak…_'

…

Next day, Day 4…

…

Again, while Red continued to gather wood for the raft, Sapphire and Gold went to hunt. Gold attached four sharpened bamboo sticks to his indestructible billiard cue (tied firm with lots and lots of plant vines), thus forming an indestructible spear. Sapphire simply carried a few rocks.

"Alright, Wildchild Girl, today, we'll have a little competition," Gold said as he hefted his indestructible spear. "Whoever brings back more food wins!"

Sapphire grinned. "You're on!" She hefted a fist-sized rock and pitched it at a small tree as a demonstration. The rock smashed into the tree, leaving a fist-sized hole. Gold simply blinked but shook his head.

"Let's do it!"

While the two Dex Holders hunted, Platinum headed towards the pond she found the previous day so she could get some water. But this time, she was accompanied by Black so nothing would happen. Black carried several empty pots in order to transport the water.

As he walked, he couldn't help but notice how slowly his senior was moving, thanks to her knee. Even with the walking stick, she could still only hobble at a certain pace.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Black asked after several minutes.

Platinum almost jumped in surprise. She was either lost in thought, or hadn't expected anyone to actually ask. Maybe both.

"… I can manage," the heiress answered eventually. "… But thank you for asking. You are the first…"

Black wanted to say something else, but couldn't find the right words. The two Dex Holders ended up walking/hobbling in silence.

…

Few days later, Day 8…

…

Platinum silently stared at the pot currently placed over the fire. With the small amount of food Gold and Sapphire brought, the heiress was trying to make something Diamond taught her a while back. Easier said than done, since there wasn't a whole lot of stuff she could use. At best, the ingredients were… a small fish, a bird, and a small rabbit. As such, the Dex Holders changed plans. Gold removed the sharpened bamboo sticks from his billiard cue, and instead, attached a vine to it and a hook made from a bent nail. Now he had an indestructible fishing rod. He used it to catch any and all sorts of fish for food. Sapphire began to lay down traps in the forest, hoping for something big and worthy of eating. Black was on water duty, and as such, constantly had to go back and forth between the pond and the camp. Red continued to gather wood and tying them up for a suitable raft.

And as the only one with any cooking experience (even though all her experience came under the guidance of Diamond), Platinum was responsible for making the meals with whatever supplies she was given.

One by one, the Dex Holders began to gather once more. Gold carried a decent sized fish and immediately proceeded to prepare it for cooking. Sapphire returned with a small rabbit. Apparently nothing else was caught in the traps. Rats.

Black returned with another pot full of water and… something else.

"Uh… does anyone know what this is?" he asked as he held a… bug… mushroom like thing in his hand. "It looks like a bug, but it looks like a mushroom too."

Platinum took it and examined it. "It is both."

Red looked at the mushroom-bug. "Huh…"

"It is a creature that is a bug in the winter and mushroom in the summer. Mushroom spores enter an insect's body but remain dormant throughout the winter. As temperatures rise, the spores take over the body and kill the host insect. In the end, the insect's insides are replaced with a mushroom-like substance. Parasect is an example of this. While it is a Paras, it is still a bug with mushrooms. By the time of Parasect, the mushroom has taken over and the bug is dead."

Gold shuddered. "To think that Crys has such an abomination…" A thought occurred and he looked horrified. "Do you think… the spores would affect _her_ one day?"

"The spores are harmless to people," Platinum assured him. "And Parasect is a Pokémon. It is conscious and will not harm its own trainer." She then threw the ex-insect into the ocean.

"Why'd you throw it out?" Sapphire asked.

"Though it is uncommon, it is not wise to have random mushrooms," Platinum answered. "We must not eat a mushroom if we do not know everything about it. Eating it may be fatal."

Red nodded in approval. "Good thing we have you around, Platinum. Otherwise, we would've been screwed."

Platinum blushed in embarrassment at the praise. "It is nothing, senior. But thank you."

Again, Sapphire narrowed her eyes. '_How come she gets all the praise when she's doing absolutely nothing? This is crap…_'

…

Next day, Day 9…

…

Platinum woke up from her sleep when she heard Sapphire talking rather loudly. She slowly sat up and crawled out of her tent. She spotted Sapphire standing over the food reserves (namely, two large pots of stored food) with her hands on her hips. The other Dex Holders were standing near as well, all looking a bit concerned and a little angry.

"Platinum!" Sapphire yelled out.

"Yes?" the heiress mumbled as she struggled up to her feet.

"Do you know anything about this?"

"What do you mean?"

Platinum approached Sapphire and looked at the food reserves. Much to her surprise and horror, over half of the food stored from the previous day was gone, as if something (or some_one_) secretly ate it all.

"Oh no, what happened?" Platinum muttered in shock.

"You tell us!" Sapphire shouted. "The reserves were next to _your_ tent, and under _your_ care!"

Platinum stared at her senior in disbelief. "Are you blaming _me_ for this?"

"No, I'm just _curious_ as to why half our food suddenly vanished," Sapphire said sarcastically.

Platinum looked at the other Dex Holders. They all had varying looks of suspicion.

"You have to admit this doesn't look good for you," Gold said eventually. "The food reserve _was_ right next to your tent. It was like full last night before we went to sleep, and the moment we wake up, half is gone. It is suspicious."

Platinum suddenly inhaled as if she was about to cry out. But she quickly calmed herself down. "… Yes… it is suspicious… I did not do it, but you will probably not believe me. I believe that small animals are sneaking into our camp to steal our food, but you will believe that I am making up excuses. … Do as you wish."

With a sigh, the heiress hobbled over to sit by the fire. The other Dex Holders watched her actions, but soon dissipated to do their daily tasks. Suspicious or not, there wasn't any evidence.

Platinum watched the other Dex Holders. One by one, they all occasionally glanced at her, as if they still suspected her. But they all soon focused on their tasks. Except Sapphire. She kept her glare. Platinum stared into the fire and sighed. She hated this place. It seemed that everything she did here somehow backfired on her. Her initial idea of having a no-Pokémon vacation to strengthen friendship resulted in getting stranded here. And right now, even though she was trying her absolute hardest for the good of everyone, the other Dex Holders were all suspecting her. And for some reason, Sapphire seemed to hate her.

This was the first time someone actually hated her. When she traveled with Diamond and Pearl, she only felt friendship and care from them, and never any hatred. But now, Sapphire was giving her more hatred than she could handle. And the other Dex Holders' response… they seemed so cold to her. Platinum let out a shuddering sigh as tears formed in her eyes. She really hated this place… She just wanted to go home, to the warm embrace of her family and friends…

…

4 days later, Day 13…

…

Day after day, everything was the same. Red would ask for any suggestions. Sapphire would immediately suggest something overly reckless, rushing to get off the island as soon as possible. Platinum had to suggest in something else for better preparation. Red would always take Sapphire's side, but would leave Black and the heiress to do the better preparation. And this would get Sapphire to hate her more and more.

The Hoenn Dex Holder constantly checked her actions, as if she was just waiting to find some kind of evidence against the heiress.

Platinum steadily gave up trying. No matter what she did, Sapphire would hate her and suspect her of everything. Even though Platinum didn't eat anything since her senior first suspected her of secretly eating from the food reserve, Sapphire still suspected her. No matter what she said, the other Dex Holders would take Sapphire's side. So she slowly stopped trying. Whenever Red asked for a suggestion, she stayed quiet. Whenever someone tried to talk to her, she just looked away. She didn't want to talk anymore. It's not like anyone was trying to comfort her anyways.

But now apparently her attitude was bothering Sapphire. Or maybe she just hated her and was trying to find any sort of excuse.

Once Red, Gold, and Black went to see if there was anything caught in the traps, Sapphire went to confront Platinum.

"Alright, you," she growled out. "We need to talk."

Platinum stopped staring at the fire and slowly turned to face her senior. "… About what?" she asked quietly.

"About you constantly screwing with our chances of escape," Sapphire answered angrily.

"… I beg your pardon?"

"I don't know why, but for some reason, you seem hell-bent in keeping us on this damn island. Every time we have an idea of escaping, you suggest we do something else that's incredibly time-consuming. Why do you think we haven't even finished building our raft yet? You keep screwing with us!"

Platinum simply stared at her senior in disbelief. She began to tremble as anger and frustration erupted inside. She tried to calm down, but she couldn't. Within a few seconds, she lost control of her emotions and burst into tears of anger.

"Senior! H – How can you be so mean to me?" she cried out. "How can you suspect me of sabotaging our escape plans? Do you think I want to stay here? I want to go home too! I hate it here!"

"Then why the hell are you disagreeing with everything I say?!" Sapphire yelled out in anger.

"I am not disagreeing," Platinum argued. "Your suggestions are always rushed and you never have any contingency plans. Senior Red always takes your suggestions and I am always left behind because I suggested in something else. But in the end, my contingency preparations are what save us from potential harm. In the first day, you suggested in climbing up the nearest mountain to scan the area. I suggested in building shelters first. That night, you all had to use the shelter I set up. But you did not even thank me once!"

Sapphire gritted her teeth in anger. "So what, are you saying that _I'm_ the reason we're all still stuck here?!"

"No. We all need to work together to get off this island safely," Platinum said. Tears started to well in her eyes as she thought about everything she had to go through thanks to Sapphire. "But… you keep blaming me for everything… You do not appreciate me at all…"

"If you actually go along with our plans, maybe I'll thank you for once!"

"Even now, you refuse to listen to me… I said that your suggestions are always rushed, senior. If I go along with your plans too, then no one will have any contingency planning and we will all die quickly. And you even suspect me of secretly eating up our food supply. How can you suspect me of such a thing? I starved for days to prove my innocence, but you still do not trust me…" Platinum wiped away the forming tears and looked away from her senior in defiance. "… In truth, it is you who are hindering our escape. If we all die, it is because of you. And I think that _you_ are the one eating up our food. You are only framing me to get the blame off of you."

Sapphire glared at her junior as anger erupted inside her. With clenched teeth, she kicked Platinum's healed left knee as hard as she could. The heiress shrieked in pain as a loud cracking sound burst from her knee. The girl collapsed on the ground and immediately clutched at her knee. Sapphire reached down and forcefully lifted the heiress off the ground by her throat.

"If you don't go with our next plan, I'm going to tell Red that you're trying to screw with us, and I will break your other knee. And you dare suspect me of eating our food? I'm the one that's getting them in the first place! So if you even _look_ at our food supply again, I'll break your jaw! Got it?!"

Platinum kept her eyes shut in pain but still nodded. She whimpered as tears fell from her eyes. Sapphire growled at her for a few more seconds before she punched the heiress in the face and knocked her out.

The moment the heiress hit the ground, Sapphire went to hide the food reserve somewhere else. She put the reserve-pot inside her own tent, put another pot on top of it to cover it up and then placed a giant rock on top of it so no one could get to it without her knowing. Afterwards, she took a glance at Platinum before heading towards the fishing spot to secure more food.

…

Platinum woke up a few hours later and immediately gasped and groaned in pain. Her hands reached up to her face and she felt around in the inside of her mouth with her tongue. No teeth were broken, thankfully. Her jaw hurt a lot, but it wasn't broken or dislocated. Just bruised badly.

But her left knee… Platinum whimpered as she felt around her knee. It was broken for sure. She couldn't feel her left foot and she couldn't bend her knee in the slightest. She rewrapped her scarf around it to compensate for the breaking. Her knee was quite swollen, and it was very painful to touch in the slightest.

Platinum wiped away the forming tears and looked around. It was dark, and no one else was in sight. They all probably left for whatever reckless plan Sapphire came up with. Fine. That didn't matter.

The heiress grunted in agony and proceeded to crawl towards her walking stick. With it, she managed to get up on her good leg. With the walking stick, she supported herself off the ground and carefully hopped forward while dragging her broken leg behind. Sapphire hated her? So be it. The Hoenn Dex Holder didn't want her around, and the heiress could tell that the other Dex Holders didn't really care for her either. Otherwise, _someone_ would be on her side. She starved herself for days because Sapphire suspected her of eating up their food supply (which she wasn't). And yet, no one was sympathizing with her, which meant no one cared about her. Fine. They didn't want her, so she'll leave. She didn't want to stay with people who hated her anyways.

She took one last look around the camp she built and shook her head. For the first time ever, she deeply resented everyone for not acknowledging any of her efforts. Maybe once she left, they'll realize how much they're screwed without her. Platinum clenched her teeth and hobbled towards the fireplace. She was going to leave a message. She picked up a burning piece of wood and used it to burn down her makeshift tent. That way, the others will know that she had left on her own accord and that she would not be returning. She watched her tent completely burn down before proceeding to limp in a random direction.

"Ungh… I should have known this would happen," the heiress grunted as she limped ahead. She gasped from a sudden spike of pain from her knee. With clenched teeth, she looked up at the sky. The sky was covered in dark clouds, making the moon invisible. Platinum shook her head and continued to limp. She gently put a hand on her stomach as it growled. She was so hungry now, it was starting to hurt. Or so she felt, anyways. Her mind steadily drifted towards Diamond. He would comfort and help her so much in situations like this… And he also had a bag that seemed to carry an infinite amount of snacks and other food. "… Diamond… I miss you so much… …Where are you?" She glanced around to see if there was a suitable place where she could spend the night. She looked back and shook her head. She was still way too close to the original camp site. With a groan, she continued to limp forward.

As she walked, her left foot hit a rather big rock on the ground. The slight impact forced her knee to bend slightly, and the pain caused from that forced the heiress to fall. Platinum yelped and cried in pain as she clutched at her broken knee.

"Ah… Diamond! … … I really need you…" she sobbed out. "I – I hate it here… I want to go home…" For a while, the heiress simply cried. She had to vent out the pent up frustration before things got out of hand. But she stopped crying in a few minutes and struggled to stand up again. Unfortunately, because she had to put her entire body weight onto the walking staff repeatedly, the stick simply snapped and the girl crashed into the ground once more. "Ow! … … Diamond… you… you are the only one I can rely on… why are you not here for me now?" Again, Platinum curled up into a ball as much as she could and cried. "… So cold and hungry… and all alone. … I want to go home!"

The heiress soon stopped crying once again and dragged her body forward. It was more painful than limping, but she kept crawling anyways. She just wanted to get as far as she could from the camp she built all by herself, and away from the other Dex Holders, none of whom appreciated her. Would anyone even look for her? … Probably not. Well, that was fine. She didn't want to get found anyways.

* * *

><p><strong>Once again, just basically Sapphire bullying Platinum. The Sapphire vs. Platinum of SR (namely, <strong>_**here**_**) is more or less anti-Platinum. Conversely, the Sapphire vs. Platinum of SL will be anti-Sapphire. Balance.**

**Ah, this Survival – Red series is a failure. But I will trudge on, seeing how there's 1 chapter left. See, this is why all the series are 3 chapters long. That way, even if they're disastrous, they don't last long.**

**Next up:  
><strong>**Survival Red Part 3. Red and the others find out that Platinum disappeared. Sapphire soon realizes that she was wrong in how she treated her and goes to find her before the final preparations can be made for the escape.**


	29. Survival Red Part 3

**Ah, Platinum… she was sacrificed for this particular series. Makes some sense. Hard for one calm girl to survive amidst a bunch of recklessness, if said recklessness all comes from her seniors.**

**The Sapphire vs. Platinum rivalry from the original SA plans only happened because of personality extrapolation of Platinum (at the time). Realistically, this rivalry can't occur, which is why it's not present in the actual SA and SE. SR's version is created by altering or exaggerating Sapphire's personality, namely parts of her aggression. SL's version will be created by exaggerating Platinum's, namely her coldness. And in SY, both have been exaggerated slightly. But now that the original SA plans have been manifested as SAv0, the rivalry shall return!**

**But… let's get this disaster over with. This disastrous series has to end so the other disaster series can be started. Note the difference between a disastrous series and a disaster series.**

**Oh. Advertisement, as I just mentioned above: SA is back! … Not as SA2 (well, that too, but not by me), but SAv0. What SA was supposed to be before it became what it is. Check the story listing under the profile. Special Adventures Version Zero.**

**And another thing (another repeated message from the others of S-EARLY): there are stories and drawn arts out there inspired by or depicting a scene from S-EARLY. Since I'm not told of these creations (except some of the arts), and I have no qualms about these existences… inform me of them if you find them so I can check them out. The arts will be posted on my Tumblr blog.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 29: Survival – Red Part 3<p>

Day 14…

"Damn it, this is the _last time_ I'm going to climb up a mountain in the middle of the night," Gold grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah," Sapphire muttered. "Things wouldn't have been this hard if you weren't in the lead! You don't even know the way to the mountain, or back to the camp!"

"Ah, shut up…"

Red looked up at the dark sky. "… It's got to be like 2 am right now. Platinum's probably worried sick about us."

"She's probably still sleeping," Sapphire said dismissively.

"She did work tirelessly ever since we landed here," Black said from behind. "All that's probably going to take a toll on her sooner or later."

"Oh, come on. We worked harder than her," Sapphire said almost in a growl.

Eventually, the four Dex Holders returned to the camp. And they soon noticed something…

"Hey, where's Platinum?" Red asked as he looked around the camp. "And why did her tent burn down?"

Sapphire narrowed her eyes as she scanned the area. She found the exact spot where Platinum lay unconscious after that punch (the other Dex Holders were told that the heiress had fallen asleep), and spotted a faint trail leading towards the fire, her own tent, and far away from the camp. It was pretty obvious that the heiress had burned her own tent down and run away.

Why exactly did Platinum run away? She was either scared of the threats Sapphire made, or she was so offended by the suspicions she received, she didn't want to stay anymore.

Sapphire frowned as she thought deeply about this. If Platinum was scared of the threats, she would've just run away instead of burning down her tent first. But since she burned down her tent, it meant that she was so offended by the suspicion, she didn't want to stay anymore. But why would she be offended? Sapphire felt her strength drain a bit upon realization. Platinum would only feel that way if she didn't do anything wrong in the first place. If she really did do everything she could for the best for everyone and yet still received suspicion from everyone…

Sapphire shook her head. No. It was too early to conclude. It was also possible that Platinum just ran because of her fears and her tent burned down due to some stray ember from the fireplace… several meters away.

"She probably went to gather stuff to rebuild her tent," Sapphire said eventually. "The tent probably caught on fire thanks to a stray ember."

Black tilted his head. "That… seems quite far-fetched."

Gold shrugged. "It's possible, though. Stranger things have happened."

Red didn't look too convinced, but he decided to let it slide. Maybe it was because he was so tired. "I guess we'll find out in the morning."

"Yeah…" Sapphire muttered quietly.

One by one, the male Dex Holders crawled into their tents to sleep. Sapphire stood perfectly still for a few more minutes before she crawled into hers. She had to test out her theories. She had to know for certain…

Sapphire moved the food reserves out of her tent and placed it between the 4 remaining tents. She crawled back into her tent and removed the leaves of the tent 'wall' that blocked her sight of the food reserves. She remained seated and kept her eyes on the reserves. She had suspected Platinum of secretly eating from the reserves. The heiress said that small animals were responsible. If she was right…

…

Few hours later…

…

Sapphire woke up when she heard a scream coming from far away. It was faint, but her superior hearing allowed her to pick up the scream. She quickly crawled out of her tent and stared into the distance where the scream came from.

It was obvious that the scream belonged to Platinum. … Was she in trouble?

A few minutes ago, from her new position, Platinum had decided to do something about her broken knee. The scarf alone didn't prevent it from moving entirely. And every time her knee bent in the slightest, the blinding pain forced her to fall. So she had to come up with some method of preventing her knee from bending at all.

Platinum gathered 4 long, straight wooden sticks. They weren't too thick, but they weren't twigs either. She stripped their bark and placed the removed bark beside her. If she couldn't find something to eat soon, she'd have to settle with that bark.

Platinum removed her scarf and took a few deep breaths to prepare herself. She clenched her eyes and slowly forced her broken leg straight. The pain was unbearable and she felt tears forming in her eyes. But she forced it straight.

Eventually, she managed to straighten her knee, but not fully. Something was in the way. Something… painful. Platinum realized that it was her broken kneecap. It was now in the wrong position and that prevented her knee from fully straightening. She had to fix this before her bones healed.

She carefully felt around her good knee with one hand and the broken knee with her other hand. She compared the two and determined what she had to do. She put a small piece of wood in her mouth so she'd bite down on it when the time came. She then put her hands on her broken kneecap. After a mental countdown, she forcefully repositioned her broken kneecap.

Even though the pain forced her to bite down on the piece of wood, she still couldn't withstand the pained scream from escaping past her lips. And that scream was what woke Sapphire.

Sapphire looked into the distance for a short while before she shook her head. She soon remembered what she intended to do and focused her attention to the food reserves. Much to her surprise, half of the stored food was gone once again. So… it really wasn't Platinum. It couldn't be her, as she was currently way too far away and given her condition, she wouldn't be able to move that quickly. Sapphire felt her strength draining. She shook her head. She had to focus… and think of what to do. She then noticed tiny tracks near the reserves. Lines as if something small had crawled over towards the reserve and then made its way back.

"Tiny animals… just like she said…"

Sapphire put her hands on her temples and dropped to her knees. She frantically shook her head to shake away the thoughts about Platinum, but failed.

"No… no… What did I… What have I… … No, I have to set things right…"

Her legs were trembling, but Sapphire forced herself up to her feet. The other Dex Holders didn't know yet. And she had to tell them soon. Today. When they woke up. Sapphire crawled back into her tent she could think of exactly what she was going to say.

Before long, the male Dex Holders woke up one by one. They crawled out of their tents one by one and glanced around to see if anything changed. Then they drank some water (which was from the pond that Platinum had found) and waited until everyone was awake.

Once Gold and Sapphire crawled out of their tents, Red cleared his throat to speak. "Alright everyone, gather up. Time to discuss our next action!"

"Where's Platinum?" Black asked. "I still don't see her around. Where'd she go? Her tent's still burnt to a crisp too."

Sapphire let out a long sigh. "… Red, before we do anything," she started quietly. "… There's something… I have to tell you."

"Hm? What?"

Sapphire took a shuddering breath. She dropped to her knees and bowed in shame. "About Platinum…"

"What about her?"

"It's… my fault she disappeared," Sapphire mumbled out quietly.

"… What do you mean?" Gold asked.

Sapphire let out a shuddering sigh as she began to explain everything. Including the… _incident_ last night when she purposely broke Platinum's knee and threatened her, which was what forced the heiress to run away from the camp.

"… You what?" Gold muttered. "You… … What?!"

"Sapphire… Platinum did everything for us," Black said. "All this… our camp, fire, and water supply all came thanks to her."

"I know!"

Red crossed his arms and paced around a bit. "So… You just didn't like how I appeared to care more about her than you. That's why you purposely hurt her. So she could go away and I'll be focusing on you."

Sapphire put her hands over her face. "… Yes…"

"Damn it, Sapphire!" Red yelled out abruptly. "Platinum looked up to you! She did everything she could so she wouldn't disappoint anyone! And you broke her…" He took several deep breaths to calm himself down. "… So. Why tell me this now?"

"To let you know that I'll set everything right," Sapphire answered quietly. "I don't care if I have to search every square centimeter of this whole island. I'll find Platinum and set everything right."

Red let out a long sigh. "… I don't think Platinum will forgive you. I don't think your actions _can_ be forgiven. And we don't even know if Platinum is alive right now, if that scream you heard was any indication of her state. She's all alone out there, without any supplies. Not to mention, she's been starving herself for days because of your suspicion. _And_, you broke her knee."

Sapphire slowly nodded. "I know. Alive or dead, I will find her. If she's alive, I'll bring her back safely and then apologize to her for everything. Afterwards, I'll do all I can to set things right. If she's dead…" She took out the length of vine from her bag. "… Let's just say that she's not the only one who'd rather die than live ashamed."

Red sighed again but allowed her to carry out her plan. "If that's your determination, good. But I won't allow a pointless death. Go find her, but keep yourself alive. That's an order." He stared at Sapphire for a bit before shaking his head. "… Knowing Platinum, she won't return. Ever. You suspected her of doing something she didn't do, insulted her for only suggesting the right things, broke her knee, and even threatened her. You scared her and hurt her feelings so much she ran away from us. She would rather risk the unknown and dangerous wildness than stay with us. The fact that she burned down her own tent, which she created, mind you, was a clear message that she will not be returning. So you'll have a hell of a time convincing her to return. But it's your responsibility. Get to it."

Sapphire nodded and rose to her feet. She still avoided eye contact with everyone due to shame. She bowed to Red and soon headed towards the general direction where she heard Platinum's scream. Red watched her for a while and then focused on the others.

"Alright, this is what we're going to do. Platinum is out there somewhere. She's hurt, alone, and probably in serious trouble. If she's still alive, then it means that she's getting a source of water. So Black, head up to our water source and see if you can find any traces of her. If you don't find anything, then she may have found another source and we'll expand our search. Gold, search around the coastline. When Platinum first ran away, she wouldn't have gone straight into the forest. She most likely followed the coastline. But with a broken knee, she wouldn't have been able to walk properly and there will be plenty of traces. Marks made by dragging her leg, for example. Find those traces. But one of us has to stay at the camp and make sure the fire's strong enough so none of us gets lost. So we'll rotate the guard duty. I'll stay here this time and whoever returns first, we'll swap roles. Everyone clear?"

Gold nodded. "Yeah. Let's find her."

"Good. Remember, we have to find her by the end of today. So let's get to it."

Unfortunately, even though Platinum's scream gave the other Dex Holders a big hint as to her current location, the heiress had already anticipated as much and she used all her strength to crawl/limp away once more, thus making their search for her much more difficult.

…

4 days later, Day 18…

…

Red carefully scanned the area once more. All he saw were trees and shrubs. There were no signs of Platinum, and he was getting more and more worried. He knew that the heiress really looked up to him. And he cared for her too. She was a very valuable junior. So he had to find her, no matter the cost.

After another couple of hours of searching, Red decided to take a little water break. He headed towards the pond so he could drink some water in the shade cast by the surrounding forest.

But as he approached the pond, he noticed something. Slight movement. Someone, or some_thing_ was here as well. He hefted the bamboo spear he carried around and prepared himself. Just in case.

He deliberately slowed his pace and constantly looked around. Near the edge of the pond, there was a large tree. He couldn't see behind that tree, so it felt likely that something might be hidden there.

Red held his breath and quickly moved around the tree. The moment he could see behind it, he almost jumped in surprise.

"Platinum!"

The heiress looked up at him, equally surprised. She didn't think anyone would've been able to find her, since she was on the opposite side of the pond from the camp site, and it would be quite a walk to reach there.

Red quickly set down his spear and kneeled in front of her, in a way to prevent her from fleeing once more. Platinum simply watched him. She didn't appear to be able to move anyways. Instead, she kept wary eyes on him at all times. Red then noticed that his junior looked very different than the last time he saw her. Sure, she looked just as tired and starving as before, but right now, she looked… suspicious. Scared, even. She kept her guard up and eyed his every move. He didn't think this was necessary, since he never actually did anything to her. Then he noticed that her clothes were quite damaged. They were just covered in dirt, and were even torn in various placed. Undoubtedly from having to crawl so much. Even the girl's skin looked different. She was paler than before, and her body had countless scratches and cuts all over the place. Again, from having to crawl around so much. But it seemed that the girl had found a way to prevent her broken knee from constantly bending. She had placed four straight wooden sticks around her knee and tied them around her leg with plant vines and her scarf, thus preventing her broken knee from moving.

"Why…" the heiress started quietly.

"Platinum, I'm so happy that you're okay," Red said with a happy smile. He gently put a hand on her shoulder to show that he meant no harm.

Platinum jumped at the contact and didn't seem to trust his words. Her weary eyes still showed clear hints of suspicion, disbelief, and a little bit of fear. "… Why are you out here?"

"To find you," Red answered. "Everyone's been looking for a few days now."

"… Why?"

"Because we care about you! We were all so worried!"

The heiress still didn't look convinced. If anything, her suspicion seemed to have become bigger. "… Why? I tried my best to help you all, but everyone hated me. So there must be an actual reason why you tried to find me…"

"We never hated you," Red said nicely. "We all thought of you as a-"

Platinum suddenly gasped in terror. Red glanced back and spotted Sapphire running over with a relieved look on her face. Realizing something, he quickly looked at Platinum. The heiress was now trying to crawl away, but was making no progress because of her panic and haste. Red gently held onto her shoulder, not allowing her to escape. Not that she would be able to.

The heiress faced him with a look of deep resentment and fear, as if she was blaming him for bringing Sapphire to her. Her look hurt him. He had never seen her look at him with resentment before. But at least it didn't last long as Sapphire just arrived, which made Platinum cover her face with her arms and pull away as much as she could.

"Just… just leave me alone," she whimpered out, now visibly cowering. "I – I didn't do anything…"

Red cast a glare at Sapphire. The Hoenn Dex Holder avoided eye contact with him and kneeled in front of her junior. Platinum pulled herself away from her as much as she could.

"Platinum," Sapphire said nicely. "I'm so sorry for what I did. I was 100% wrong and you didn't do anything wrong. Please. Come back to the camp with us."

Platinum frantically shook her head. "N – No, no… No more…"

Red kept his glare at Sapphire. "You, leave. Now."

Sapphire winced at his words but understood. She bowed to both Red and Platinum and quickly walked away. Once she felt that she was far enough away from the heiress to make her feel safer, she stopped walking and waited.

Platinum calmed down when Sapphire left her alone. She still looked scared and worried, however. Red moved so that he would block Sapphire from Platinum's sight. The heiress kept her guard up, as she no longer trusted anyone on this island. She had already come to the conclusion long ago that no one remotely cared about her. Red felt the need to offer her the warmth and care she needed and wanted before he could attempt to change the way the girl saw Sapphire.

"Platinum," he started warmly. "… I understand how you feel." A blatant lie, but he sounded genuine enough. "I know how it feels when it looks like no one is looking after you, and that you're all alone." '_Damn it, where's Blue when you need her? This is her specialty!_'

Platinum stopped trembling and carefully examined her senior's expression. Red patted her on the cheek. The heiress jumped at first, but quickly relaxed.

'_Hey, it's working!_' "You have nothing to fear from me," he said nicely once more.

The girl still didn't look fully convinced. But she seemed to be warming up to him. "… But…"

"Hey, come on," Red said with a warm smile. "When have I ever hurt you in the slightest?"

Platinum stared into his eyes as she thought over all of her memories with him. Come to think of it, Red never did hurt her in the slightest. Even Diamond hurt her more (that one misunderstanding early in their friendship) than Red.

She slowly nodded as she allowed herself to trust her senior. "… Okay… I trust you…"

"Good. Now trust me when I say this. You keep saying that no one cares for you. You're wrong, Platinum. We do care for you. I know I do. And so does Black. In fact, he always took your side. Gold doesn't hate you either. He views you as a teammate, and you know how much he cares about his teammates. Now, Sapphire may have hated you, but she changed. She told me all about what she did to you, and she deeply regrets her actions. In fact, she's the first one to actively search for you." Red examined his junior's expression. She seemed to be listening to him. "Now, Platinum. I want you to come back to us. And believe me, Sapphire will set everything right." He looked back at the Hoenn Dex Holder, who was just waiting for him to call her over. So he did. "Sapphire, get back here!"

Platinum looked quite surprised, but calmed herself down a little and watched. Sapphire came over and again, kneeled in front of her.

"Sapphire, as I said, this is your responsibility," Red said with a stern expression.

Sapphire nodded. "Platinum, I'm really, _really_ sorry for what I did. Can you please come back to the camp with us?"

Platinum didn't say anything and instead, scanned her senior's expression. So Sapphire tried harder.

"It's really not safe for you to be all the way out here by yourself like this. Come back to the camp with us. We'll protect you and make sure nothing happens to you. And I'll do everything I can to help you."

Platinum finally spoke, but very quietly. "… Why should I go back? Everyone hates me… you more than the others. No one took my side for anything. It was perfectly clear that I am not wanted around, so I left. And I will not go back."

"It's not safe for you out here," Sapphire said again.

"It is not safe for me in the camp either," Platinum replied. She cast a long glance at her broken knee, which had stopped hurting the previous day. Perhaps all the nerves died? Or she was used to it. "I will take my chances out here, alone."

"But you'll die out here… I really want you to survive, Platinum. Please, come with us so we can take care of you."

"Why do you say that?" Platinum asked. "Are you really afraid that I will die, or are you just afraid that Diamond and Pearl will find out that I died because of you?"

Sapphire put a hand over her face. When her hand moved, Platinum immediately reached for Red, seeking protection. She backed away from Sapphire as much as she could. But when Sapphire lowered her hand, she could see that tears were welling in her eyes.

"… After what I did, I don't care about what happens to me," she said quietly. "Even if Dia and Pearl find out about what I did to you, it wouldn't matter to me, because I won't be getting off this island without you. If you don't want to come back to the camp, I'll stay here with you. If you run away again, I'll find you again. And if you die…" She pulled out the length of vine from her bag. "… I'll follow you too. So do as you wish."

Sapphire slowly rose to her feet and walked away once more, this time heading back towards the camp. Red watched her leave and sighed.

"Platinum… you really have to return to the camp with us. Just look at her. She's more ashamed about this than ever. If you keep refusing to trust us, she really will kill herself. Just as you would, if the roles were reversed."

Platinum still didn't look fully convinced. She looked away from Red and focused on her broken knee. Red moved so he could sit right next to her. He slowly put an arm around her for a warm embrace, in a way of showing his care for her.

"… Senior… I want to be left alone," Platinum mumbled out quietly, even though she was starting to relax in her senior's embrace.

"Don't lie, Platinum," Red said. "I know you felt lonely for the past several days." He checked his junior's expression to make sure he was saying the right things. "Platinum, please come back to the camp with us. You're invaluable to us. We need your help. And I trust you. That's why whenever you suggested something, I let you and Black carry out your plan."

The heiress just sighed as she struggled to make a decision. "But…"

"How about this, then? You come with us back to the camp for today. And if you still don't want to stay with us, you can leave again."

Platinum looked at Red and tried to read his thoughts. Was he giving up on her? Somehow, that notion felt much worse than being alone in the middle of the wilderness.

"I'll take it as a yes then," Red said, having received no response from the girl. He slowly rose to his feet and carefully lifted her onto his arms. Platinum winced from the sudden shock to her knee, but didn't put up a struggle. "You're a lot lighter than I remember. I think you need to eat something."

Still, the heiress didn't say anything. She just let herself be carried back to the camp in silence. Maybe it was because she didn't get any sleep for a while, or maybe it was because she felt relieved deep down inside her, but as Red carried her towards the camp, she steadily fell asleep.

…

Day 19…

…

Platinum stirred as she heard mumbling voices around her. 4 distinct voices talking to one another…

"… You think she's sick or something?"

"Might be. She didn't seem to have eaten anything in a long while."

"Maybe she's just really tired from crawling around all day for the past few days."

"Maybe it's all of the above? … Shouldn't we just let her rest?"

"I think she's waking up."

The heiress slowly opened her eyes. She immediately recognized Red, Gold, Sapphire, and Black all sitting around her in the makeshift tent, looking at her worriedly.

"Finally, you're awake," Gold said.

"You've been asleep for a good 3/4 of a day, you know," Black said.

"Are you feeling okay?" Red asked.

The heiress slowly nodded as she sat up. "Yes…" She then noticed that she was using Red's vest as a blanket. She folded it neatly and returned it to Red. "Thank you…"

Sapphire let out a sigh of relief. Platinum kept nervous eyes on her at all times. The Hoenn Dex Holder understood. She simply placed two pots on the ground next to her junior. She then placed a long sturdy walking stick next to her as well.

"Here. I'll just leave these here and leave you alone," she said warmly. "I know you don't want me near you, and I understand. Just eat up and drink up, okay?"

Platinum didn't respond and didn't look at the two pots, one of which contained several ripe berries and the other filled with drinking water. Sapphire gave her a friendly smile and soon left the tent.

Red gave Platinum a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Eat, drink, and relax, okay? When you want to, meet us outside."

The male Dex Holders left the tent as well, leaving the heiress alone. She finally let out a sigh of relief and started to collect her thoughts. So far, things weren't bad. And she believed that as long as she kept her mouth shut, everything will remain as such.

Platinum took a small sip of water and a small bite out of a berry. She left the other berries perfectly intact, just in case that caused any trouble. Still, no matter how nice the other Dex Holders were to her, she couldn't quite trust any of them.

…

3 days later, Day 22…

…

The escape raft Red and the others were building was finally completed. Red gathered the others, including Platinum, for the next plans.

"Alright, so we'll load up our food and water supply on the raft and push on. Any suggestions for improvement?" Red asked. The other Dex Holders immediately turned their attention to Platinum. The heiress kept her head down with her now-usual crestfallen look. "Platinum?" Red called nicely.

The girl slowly faced him. "… Yes?"

"Do you have any suggestions for our plan?" Red asked nicely. He pointed at the created raft on the shore. It was a simple raft without any supporting wings. One simple wave could flip it over. But it looked big enough.

Platinum eyed the poor excuse of a raft but didn't say anything. For several seconds, she simply stared at it and kept quiet.

"I guess it's not really up to your standards," Sapphire muttered. She frowned as she realized that her words sounded sarcastic and implicative even though she was just stating a fact. "Um…"

The heiress flinched and quickly scanned the expressions of the other Dex Holders. "N – No," she hastily blurted out. "I… I think it's great!"

It was a blatant lie and everyone knew it. But Platinum looked so scared and panicked, the other Dex Holders couldn't really say anything. Red quickly signaled her to calm down with both of his hands.

"Easy, Platinum. It's okay. We really do want your advice."

Platinum put her hands over her mouth as she desperately checked everyone's expressions. Even though they all had warm expressions and smiles, the heiress didn't trust any of them. Without warning, she quickly turned around and began to limp/hop away as fast as she could manage.

Red let out a long sigh. "Damn it."

Sapphire rubbed the back of her neck and kept her head down in shame. Gold and Black simply stood back, wondering what was wrong with the raft.

"Alright people, start brainstorming," Red ordered. "Something's clearly wrong with that raft. So find out what that is." Afterwards, he went to talk to Platinum once more.

Sapphire stared at the raft. She calmed herself down as much as she could and thought about it. Her ideas were generally rushed, according to Platinum, so she thought about long term effects.

"I think I know what Platinum was thinking," she said to the other two Dex Holders.

"Huh?"

"A big enough wave would flip this thing over," Sapphire said. "I think we should do something about it."

…

Later that night…

…

Platinum slowly peeked around her tent. No one was in sight, as they were all still sleeping. After scanning around for several minutes, she slowly crawled out. With her walking stick, she managed to get to her good foot before long.

She took another look around to make sure no one was awake and slowly hobbled away from the camp. She couldn't stand being around the others. They just… scared her. Their whole "nice act" frightened her too. And she just couldn't stay around. So she would leave once more. Red tried to talk to her earlier that day, but his words didn't mean anything to her. No matter what anyone said, her thoughts were clear. Before long, anger will build up, and someone would lose their temper. And Platinum was not going to stay around for that again.

But she didn't manage to get far. Before she passed Red's tent, she stopped in her tracks. She stared at Red's tent and blinked. He trusted her. He was so nice to her too. Even if she didn't trust him entirely, he put so much trust in her. And she couldn't just… betray him like this.

As much as everyone scared her, she didn't want to betray Red's trust. That just didn't seem right.

Platinum let out a whimper-like groan as she proceeded to sit on the grass nearby. She couldn't stay. But she couldn't leave either. Only if she had someone to talk to… only if Diamond was with her…

She stared up at the night sky. The full moon was beautiful to look at. But the bright reflection of the near-perfectly circular celestial body appeared to look like Diamond's slightly chubby face and his bright smile. He was looking for her… somewhere out there…

She reached out for the moon. It appeared to be so close… within arm's reach… But the actual distance of 380 000 km obviously prevented physical contact.

"So close… yet so far…" Platinum muttered. "Diamond… I know you are looking for me… … You're close… close to me… yet so far… you're just out of reach…"

Platinum soon buried her face into her hands and sobbed. She missed Diamond so much. She hated this island. And she hated herself for being incapable of making a decision.

"Platinum?" came Red's voice from behind.

The heiress quickly calmed down and wiped away her tears. "Y – Yes, senior?"

"What are you doing out here?" Red asked as he sat beside her. Platinum didn't say anything, as she didn't know what to say. Red apparently understood her. "… You were planning on running away again, weren't you?"

"… Yes…" Platinum mumbled out quietly.

"… We tried our best to show you that we want to take good care of you," Red said. "So… why are you trying to abandon us again?"

The heiress let out a sigh. "… Senior, may I be honest?"

"Of course," Red said. He faced her and looked into her eyes. The moonlight made her eyes sparkle, but only because tears were forming in them. "You can tell me anything."

Platinum stared into his eyes and felt her tears blurring her vision. "… The truth is… I'm just… scared." She looked down as she wiped away the tears. "I'm scared of senior Sapphire… junior Black… senior Gold… this whole island, and…" She looked up at her senior once again, her eyes red from fatigue and crying. "… You, senior…"

"Me? Why?"

"You're all so… reckless and headstrong… Your plans are always so rushed, but you don't plan for anything in case your ideas fail. I was the only one to suggest contingency planning, and you all benefited from it. I was the one to suggest building shelters, and I had to make them myself. I was the one to suggest finding a source of water, and I had to find it myself too. I did all sorts of things for the good of everyone and yet… you didn't appreciate my efforts." She looked down once more and wiped at her eyes. "You didn't even take my side when senior Sapphire started to accuse me of stealing your food. So what would happen if I stay? Everyone will continue making reckless suggestions. If I go with your plans, there will not be any preparations for when the plan fails. If I make alternate suggestions, everyone will start hating me more because I would be disagreeing all the time. And eventually, someone will hurt me again, just as senior Sapphire did. Maybe it'll be junior Black who will vent out his anger on me. Or senior Sapphire again. Or… you. Senior Sapphire already threatened to break my other knee if I did not agree with her plans. So what will you do? Break my arms?"

Red wanted to say that it wasn't true, but then he realized that Platinum was just venting out the pent up emotions she had for the past several days. So he waited. She would calm down eventually.

Platinum let out a trembling sigh as she steadily calmed down. "… If you really do care about me… please just let me go and let me have my peace of mind."

Red waited for a few seconds to see if she had more to say. She didn't. In fact, she seemed to be waiting for his response.

"… Sorry, Platinum," Red said with a sigh.

"… For what, senior?"

"This. What happened to you. Everything," he said quietly. "Because… well, this is my fault. If I could keep things under control, this wouldn't have happened to you. If Green or Blue was here instead of me, there wouldn't be any problems. If Green was here, he'd keep everything and everyone under complete control, and he would've led everyone off this island a while ago. If Blue was here, she'd be the one coming up with ideas and she'd talk to you guys so there wouldn't be any personal problems arising. But I'm not like either of them, so this happened. And I'm sorry."

"Senior," the heiress started. But Red didn't let her continue.

"Listen. I won't force you to stay with us. I can't ask you to stay with us if you feel that you'll get hurt. You're really smart, Platinum. Your suggestions and plans are invaluable. If I only listened to you sooner, none of this would've happened. I'd listen to your suggestions now, if you made them. Sapphire and the others agree too. We all want to hear your thoughts, but because of what we did, you don't want to share your thoughts with us. And I'm sorry. At this rate, and knowing you, you might have better chances of getting off this place by yourself than with us." He gently patted the girl on the upper back and sighed. "I won't stop you if you really want to leave us. I just wish you good luck. … And goodbye."

Red rose to his feet once more and returned to his tent. Platinum wanted to say something but no words came out. Instead, she stared into the dark distance once more and thought about what Red said. She might've hurt his feelings by only focusing on her emotions. And with that realization, came guilt. Guilt of refusing to accept everyone's sincerity. Guilt of making others feel miserable. Especially Red. He put so much trust in her… she just couldn't leave him. She wanted to help him. And she would.

…

Day 23…

…

Platinum pulled herself away from the breakfast she was making and hobbled around the tents to see if anyone else was awake.

She peeked into Red's tent. The Kanto Dex Holder remained fast asleep, with all of his limbs spread wide apart. Since he was still snoring, Platinum moved on to the next tent.

Gold and Sapphire were sleeping in the next one. Because the heiress had burned hers down, Sapphire had volunteered to give up her own tent when the heiress returned. And until another tent was built, she forced Gold to make room for her. And so far, Sapphire and Gold had no success in rebuilding a tent.

Both Gold and Sapphire tend to… kick and turn while sleeping. So when Platinum peeked inside the tent, she took a few seconds to notice what was what. Gold was currently snoring with one of his legs resting on top of Sapphire's chest, and with the other below her hips. Sapphire, despite lying in an incredibly uncomfortable position, was still fast asleep, snoring equally loudly as Gold.

Platinum moved on to Black's tent. The Unova Dex Holder was sleeping face down, drooling a bit as he snored with a happy expression. As such, the heiress left him alone as well and hobbled back towards the fireplace to continue with the breakfast.

Soon, as the breakfast approached completion, the other Dex Holders started to wake up one by one. Red was the first to crawl out of his tent. He was actually a bit surprised to see Platinum still around and quickly approached her.

"Good morning, senior," the heiress said with a smile. It was the first time he saw her smile in a long while.

"Platinum… you're staying with us?"

Platinum nodded. "Yes. You have given me so much trust and care, I cannot leave you. For better or for worse, I will stay with you."

"What about the others?" Red asked.

"… Senior Sapphire's actions were due to irrational anger. I cannot judge her solely on that. And for the past few days, she has also shown me great care. I will forgive her. This whole experience would have been an example for the others and as such, I do not expect any trouble anymore. And as such, I have no reason to leave you."

"You're going to stay with us? That's great! Thanks, Platinum."

Platinum rose to her feet once more. "Thank you, senior Red, for all your care and support through my difficult time. I will never forget it."

Red gave the girl a gentle embrace. Platinum appeared happy for the first time in a long while, and he felt very relieved.

"Alright, Platinum. So do you have any suggestions you'd like to make?"

"Yes," Platinum answered. "First, the raft. We will need to take two large logs and attach them to the raft. They will act as supporting wings. That way, it will be much harder for the waves to flip it over. Next, we will need to make one large tent that we will place on the raft. We do not know how long we will be on the ocean. We need a shelter from the sun rays. Next, we will need to stockpile our water and food reserves. Once all those preparations are complete, we will use the tides to escape this island."

"What direction should we take?"

"We should head north. Using the position of the sun, I can determine the general compass directions."

Red smiled and patted his junior on the shoulder. "You see? This is why we need you. I'll wake up the others, and we'll start making those preparations."

…

5 days later, Day 28…

…

Red checked over all of the stuff on the raft. The new raft had supporting wings, several oars, and had a big makeshift tent built on it and tied to the raft so wind wouldn't send it flying off. All of the pots they used were filled with food and water and were stacked up inside the tent. The tent also had several dry rocks which were going to be used to create sparks should the Dex Holders find rescue in the dark.

"Everything ready?" Sapphire asked Platinum.

Platinum glanced over the raft as well. "Yes. We should be ready."

"So… what are we waiting for now?"

"The start of the low tide," Platinum answered. "When the water level starts to go down, we will need to push off on the raft and row as fast as we can. We should be able to make great progress."

"Okay. But why wait until nighttime?"

"Wind always moves from the land to the water at night, and the other way around at daytime. As such, to escape, we have to use a low tide at night."

"Alright. That makes sense."

"Okay, the water level's starting to go down!" Black yelled.

"You heard him! Move, people!" Red yelled.

Sapphire helped Platinum get onto the raft and began to push the large raft along with Red, Gold, and Black. Once the raft was on the water, Platinum helped the others get on one by one. Those that climbed out of the water immediately took out the built oars to row as fast as they could. The tide and wind greatly helped out, and before long, the island appeared like a tiny dot in the distance.

"We did it," Sapphire said. "We're finally out of that island."

"Yeah. Now we just sit back and rest, right?" Gold asked.

"Yes. We just have to make sure that we are drifting north," Platinum said. "If we approach the routes ships take from harbor to harbor, we will be rescued quickly."

"And if all else fails," Red said. "We can just row like hell and get to Kanto mainland by hand."

* * *

><p><strong>Finally, this experiment of Survival – Red series is over. GreenBlue series will fare better, for sure.**

**Announcement: this will be the last chapter of SR. No, I'm not ending it. No, I'm not cancelling it. As you can see below, there is another chapter ahead. But it just won't be SR. Details to come next chapter.**

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**Quite a few Dex Holders write diaries/journals, it seems. And a mishap causes a couple of diaries to become lost, and another Dex Holder finds them. Using the… embarrassing secrets buried inside, the Dex Holder probes the others for information in hopes of returning the diaries and embarrassing the crap out of the owners. Suggested by a recurring faithful reviewer of SR.**


	30. Unauthorized Access

**As I said last chapter, this chapter is NOT SR… not necessarily, at any rate. Welcome to the first chapter of SRv2. Or Special Randomness Version 2. Unlike SA, whose version 0 (SAv0) and version 1 (SA) are both present, SR's version 1 has become version 2. So, currently, there is no SRv1. Only SRv2. As such, SRv2 will be shortened to just SR, thereby creating no changes to the title. The significance being: the 4 newest Dex Holders will now suddenly appear along with everyone else. Only possible within SR(v2) and nowhere else.**

**Ages, for SR only:  
><strong>**Red, Green, Blue: oldest.  
><strong>**Yellow, Gold, Silver: older.  
><strong>**Crystal: old.  
><strong>**Ruby, Sapphire: not-so-old.  
><strong>**Emerald: middle.  
><strong>**Diamond, Pearl, Platinum: young.  
><strong>**Black, White: younger.  
><strong>**Rakutsu, Faitsu: even younger.  
><strong>**X, Y: youngest.**

**See? No actual ages mentioned. Just… absolute relations. That way, there can be ambiguous friendship/relations between, say, Blue and Y. If I used Age Relations Edition VII beta, they would be 18 years apart. Not in here.**

**Now then. This chapter has been suggested by a recurring continuous reviewer a few chapters back. And as such, it is placed here, right after the Survival – Red series. The title's different though. After that disastrous Survival – Red series, SR needs to return to mindless humor for a while…**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 30: Unauthorized Access<p>

Gold finished writing down his thoughts in his… future schemes book, better known as a journal. He received a few suspicious glances from some of the other Dex Holders in the meeting, such as Crystal and Platinum. He ignored them for now, since they didn't seem to care that much.

By the time he finished writing down everything, all the other Dex Holders had left the meeting place to do whatever. The female Dex Holders probably had their own meeting coming up. According to Crystal, there was a meeting once every two days.

As Gold rose to his feet and walked away from the large circular table, his eyes caught something. A couple of books left behind by someone. Huh. They looked like journals of some sort. Diaries?

Gold considered in just calling everyone back over and let the owners deal with them, but… where's the fun in that?

He quickly picked up the two books and stuffed them in his bag. He then quickly left the scene, just in case.

Soon, after he made sure he was all alone, he opened one of the diaries. He started with a black covered one. The other one was pinkish, therefore belonging to a girl. He was going to save the best one for last.

Gold flipped the diary open to some random page and began to scan through the pages. Pretty standard stuff. It was as if the writer was forced to do this. Gold was about to close it when something caught his attention.

"_I can't believe that ALL the girls are so damn pretty. And some of them are just so… hot."_

Gold raised an eyebrow. It sounds like _he_ wrote this. Which he didn't. So there was another male Dex Holder with the same thoughts as him.

"_Blue, Crystal, the two new girls… and even Platinum and Sapphire! As long as SHE didn't know about this, I'll be safe."_

Hmm… so it wasn't Silver or Emerald, as they would never view Blue and Crystal like that. Though he should be a bit bothered that someone else was eyeing his girl, he decided to let it slide, since by definition, he was eyeing everyone else too. Gold stared at the entry and began to think of all the other male Dex Holders.

Red? Hmm… it was possible, but very unlikely, given how he shares a pseudo-sibling relationship with Platinum, just like Blue and Silver. Green? Very doubtful. All he ever writes are reports and research entries. Ruby? Perhaps. But his writing would be a bit neater. Diamond? … Probably not, since he wouldn't address Platinum by her name. For the same reason, it's unlikely that this diary belonged to Pearl. Black? … Also unlikely, since he never pays any attention to anything and is always lost in thoughts about battling Red. It wouldn't be Rakutsu or X, since they wouldn't refer to Faitsu and Y as "the new girls".

So… what the hell?

Gold decided to probe the others for hints. A series of subtle suggestions and see who reacts oddly.

…

Gold stared at the other male Dex Holders all gathered around near the Pallet Town park. Red and Green were demonstrating some battle tactics to their juniors. Well, those who were paying attention, anyways. Diamond and Pearl were focusing on comedy act ideas, and Ruby was busy sewing up something. Only Black and X seemed to be in deep focus.

Gold watched the demonstration for a while until it ended before he put his plans into motion.

"So, everybody!" he said, getting everyone's attention. "It's starting to get damn hot nowadays. So what do you say we all go to a beach or something and cool off? You know? Have a summer party with all 19 Dex Holders."

"Did Crystal suggest this?" Green asked.

"Nope. Super Serious Gal doesn't know about this yet. But she won't miss out if we all go, even if she is a bit self-conscious about wearing a swimsuit."

Gold scanned the expressions of the other 10 male Dex Holders. Green and Silver had no expressions on their faces, as usual. Red seemed to be focused more about possible sources of fun on a beach than the people involved. Ruby seemed horrified to think about what Sapphire might do to him at the beach, Emerald looked a bit disturbed from the sudden image of Crystal, Diamond and Pearl appeared to think about how excited Platinum might be from the offer, and… Black looked a bit nervous. Rakutsu didn't exactly seem to care, as he had no intention or reason to get particularly close to any of the female Dex Holders, apart from maybe Faitsu. X just seemed worried about the other people that might be at the beach too.

"How many of us can swim, anyways?" Gold asked, as he focused on Black's expressions. "I'd imagine senior Blue can swim very well. Crys isn't that good. Wildchild Girl… no worries there. I don't know about Platinum or Faitsu or Y."

"I doubt the Lady can swim," Diamond said. "Or at least all that well. If we have some safety precautions, I'm sure she'll love the idea."

"Faitsu… probably can't," Rakutsu said. "Not sure."

"And I have never seen Y swim in water," X said. "She has no reason to be able to swim, though. A former Rhyhorn Racer and a current Sky Trainer has no reason to go near water."

Gold wasn't exactly paying attention to the replies. He just focused on Black's expression. The Unova Dex Holder was looking more and more nervous and anxious. Gold grinned. Yep. He found the owner of the first diary…

…

Back at the lab, Gold took out the next diary. Whitish pink in color, with stars and hearts drawn here and there. Obviously, it belonged to a girl. But which one? Hmm… Blue, maybe? But she didn't seem like the style to go for an overly girly diary. Yellow, then? … Did Yellow even _have_ a diary? All she had was a sketchbook. Definitely not Crystal, as she would have a journal, not a diary, and it wouldn't be girly at all. Sapphire? … Heh, right. Maybe Platinum.

… Ruby? … If so, this was a serious problem that needed immediate addressing.

Gold flipped the diary open to a random page.

"_Dear Diary…"_

Okay, neat and girly handwriting. So Sapphire was out of the picture. It wasn't written in computer-style print, so Crystal was out too.

"_A few more Dex Holders joined our group. It felt like yesterday that I was one of the juniors. Now? I don't know. I'm starting to feel older and older…"_

Alright, so not Blue. Since when was she a junior? It wasn't Platinum either, since the heiress would've been very formal. Probably not Yellow either, since she was never exactly a junior either. Back then, the concept didn't exist. Not Y or Faitsu, since they joined very recently. Which meant, this diary probably belonged to White.

Gold proceeded to close the diary. Since he figured out the owner, he might as well return… … Then again! It would be interesting to skim through to see if there were any… interesting facts.

Gold skimmed through the entries. Again, pretty standard stuff. Or so he assumed. According to this diary, girls liked to shop. A lot. The standard girl stuff didn't interest him. The whole "certain clothes were cute" stuff made no sense to him. Soon, he found an entry that was… interesting.

"_I saw Red today with his shirt off. I know he's my senior and whatnot, but… wow. I guess a lot of the male Dex Holders are downright handsome and… yeah. Red, Green, of course Gold, Silver, Ruby…"_

Gold raised an eyebrow. Interesting. So apparently Black and White were having… relationship issues, by the looks of their diary entries. So, White thought he was handsome, eh? Interesting… He'd make notes to fluster the crap out of her when Crystal wasn't nearby. Just put on some charm and…

Gold grinned and continued to skim through the pages. Very soon, he found an entry that made him almost choke.

"_Oh, Blue and Crystal's are so… big. I don't get it. Why don't mine grow? Even those new girls Faitsu and Y's are bigger than mine. Crystal gave me an advice and I followed it to the letter, but no progress. At least no visible progress. Though mine are bigger than Sapphire's or Platinum's, but… … Y's are bigger? Come on! I started this earlier than her!"_

Gold quickly looked around to make sure no one was nearby. He continued reading, hoping that he was understanding the entry correctly. If not… he'd stick with his interpretation.

"_In 3 days, we're all going to meet up and compare by the lake in Pallet Town. Blue's going to check on our status and help those that need it. I know I'll need help. It's starting to get embarrassing."_

Gold checked the date of the entry. It was 3 days ago. So this… _comparison_ event was today! Now this, he _had_ to see!

Gold ran outside and immediately headed towards the lake of Pallet Town. He had his Pokégear, which he was going to use to… _record_ this event. And take lots of pictures. He just hoped that he wasn't too late.

…

Gold hid behind a large tree near the lake. The 8 female Dex Holders were gathered by the lakeshore. So the meeting had just begun. Excellent.

Gold focused on his hearing and eyed the meeting. He had to be careful. Sapphire would detect him very quickly if he made the slightest sound.

The female Dex Holders each had a large bag beside them. What could they be holding?

"Alright girls, meeting started!" Blue said. "So, Y and Faitsu. How are things going for you? Having fun?"

"Well… um… I guess," Faitsu muttered.

"Y? How about you?"

"I'm having fun," the Kalos Dex Holder answered. "It's really nice to spend time with friends outside, you know? It's much better than trying to drag X out of his room."

"Good. I'm sure X will have fun with the others too. White, how about you?"

"Eh, this week hasn't been that great to me," White answered. "Lots of… expenses. Including a diary…"

"Well, as long as someone like Gold doesn't end up with it, you'll be okay," Crystal said.

"If you require any assistance, I will gladly help in any way I can," Platinum said.

"Thank you."

"Now then… you know what to do," Blue said. "Take them out!"

Gold took out his Pokégear, but stopped as he noticed something odd. The female Dex Holders all opened their bags and took something out from them. This… wasn't what he expected. This wasn't what was written on the diary!

White hesitated but soon embarrassedly took out her _flower pots_. Two small flower pots that had two small plants growing. Faitsu and Y had their own flower pots with bigger healthy plants growing.

"Oh, White, yours haven't made much progress," Blue said.

"… Yeah… I know…"

"Did you water them regularly?"

"Yeah. I made sure they got lots of sunlight too! I just don't know why they're not growing!"

Sapphire suddenly looked backwards, as she heard a faint smack coming from behind, as if someone had smacked their hand on their forehead. But who would it be? No one would care about some _plants_ growing competition. It was probably just some twigs falling from winds or something.

"Oh, Platinum! Your plants grew so much!" came Blue's voice, interrupting Sapphire's thoughts.

The girls all focused on their growing plants and brainstormed ideas to improve growth. As a result, no one noticed Gold leaning against a tree while ramming his head against it.

…

Gold returned to the lab once more, reading White's diary intently. She did not mention ANYWHERE about growing plants in flower pots. Eh, whatever. Gold decided to return the two diaries, since he found nothing else of interest. He sent a message to Black and told him to meet him inside Prof. Oak's lab. He then sent White a similar message, telling her that he had something important to discuss with her. Which he did, actually.

The two Unova Dex Holders came pretty quickly, as they were all nearby. Black sat down first, wondering why White had come as well. The girl waved at the two boys before she sat down. Gold noted that she immediately straightened out her clothes. Trying to look perfect, perhaps?

"Alright, Dream Boy, Bossy Gal," Gold started, unable to hide his grin. "I called you two over because I had something… good to discuss."

Both Unova Dex Holders waited for their senior to continue. Gold snickered and pulled out Black's diary from his bag. As expected, the Unova boy almost jumped in surprise. White looked over at him, finding his reactions curious.

"Now… Dream Boy," Gold said. "… I think we share similar thoughts," he said with a big grin.

White frowned, wondering what he was talking about. Black nervously eyed her and hoped that Gold did not actually say anything direct.

"Oh, we all know that Crys is hot," Gold said. "And senior Blue too. And even the two new girls. But it looks like you think the same for Platinum and Wildchild Girl."

White _very_ slowly turned to glare at Black. The boy felt shivers run down his spine as he avoided eye contact. Gold continued.

"Now, I don't exactly mind you eyeing my girl… as long as it stops there. Don't make any moves on her."

"… Black…" White muttered, her tone ice cold. "… Is this true?"

Gold slid Black's diary across the table and Black immediately grabbed it. White did as well, but Black didn't let go as if his life depended on it. Which it sort of did.

"Now, Bossy Gal, I don't think _you're_ in any position to yell at Black," Gold said.

He slowly took out White's diary and the girl immediately jumped to her feet.

"G – Give me that!" she yelled as she desperately tried to take it from her senior. But Gold kept her just out of reach with one arm as he slowly flipped through the pages with the other.

Gold cleared his throat as he found the entry he was looking for. "So… you saw senior Red without his shirt, huh? And you _liked_ what you saw. Oh, you feel the same for senior Green too, huh? And Silver boy. And Fashion Boy. And… ah… even _me_."

White's cheeks turned bright red from severe embarrassment. "N – No! That's not… I… um…"

Gold laughed. "Oh, this is such an interesting development!" He suddenly smiled and lowered his voice. "You should've told me sooner."

White's cheeks turned even bright red and she couldn't make eye contact. Gold laughed harder.

"Now Black," Gold said. "I don't think she views you _interesting_ enough! And White…" Gold's eyes dropped half a meter below White's eyes for a split second. "I think your _plants_ need to grow some more before Black takes notice of you!" he said before bursting into laughter again.

White pulled her vest closer and lowered her head in severe embarrassment. Gold slid the girl's diary across the table and rose to his feet. Now that he had his fun, he was going to leave the two Unova Dex Holders alone to sort out what just happened. And things were going to be very awkward.

Black and White remained frozen still for a few minutes after Gold left. They slowly retrieved their diaries and awkwardly glanced at each other. Black cleared his throat a few times but didn't speak. White still kept her vest pulled tightly close to herself and just focused in hiding her blush.

"… Miss President," Black said eventually. "…"

"… Black…" White muttered. "… Listen… … I didn't hear anything if you didn't hear anything."

"… Deal."

"Good." White stared at her diary for a little while. "… Let's destroy the evidence and make sure Gold doesn't go around yapping about this."

"Alright."

* * *

><p><strong>Just for clarification: Gold can drop his people-nicknames sometimes. Always using nicknames for everyone can be a pain in the ass.<strong>

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**Survival Blue! Platinum sends Blue and her team up north past Snowpoint City for a little sightseeing/friendship strengthening tour. Of course, things go south (not literally) in their trip and the group ends up crash landing in the frozen wilderness.**

**Still, continuing with humor, since Survival – Blue is supposed to be humor based. And most likely, Survival – Green would end up getting cancelled, which would free up space/time in SR for disaster series. Check my Tumblr blog, under SR. The images there should be a good indicator of what's to come.**

* * *

><p>Post Ending:<p>

Gold checked through the contents in his bag again. And again. And again. Odd. His journal/scheme-plans was missing. … Could it be?

…

Blue simply blinked as she read the last line again and again from a… _book_ she found.

"_Senior Blue was SUCH a bitch today. But I'll get her back. Odd Boy and I have our ways. Note: plant miniature cameras all around her bedroom and send her an Electrode ready to blow on her birthday coming soon."_

Blue closed the _book_ and slowly headed towards her bedroom, with her Silph Scope ready in hand. So Gold and Emerald want a war? She'll give them war.


	31. Survival Blue Part 1

**Just a reminder: the Survival series and the upcoming Composer series are from SRv1. As in, no Rakutsu, Faitsu, X, or Y.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 31: Survival – Blue Part 1<p>

May 30, Snowpoint City, Sinnoh, 12 pm…

Blue took a deep breath and stretched her arms and legs. The cool… "spring" air of Snowpoint was ever so refreshing. Though it did kind of freeze her nose. Silver stood beside her as always, with his arms crossed and eyes glaring. Also as always. It wasn't intentional, really. He just had his guard up all the time. Blue had talked to him about that at one point. About how his expression prevented the likes of Platinum and White from trying to talk to him on a regular basis. She made no progress in trying to get him to lighten his expression.

Ruby was standing behind the two, shivering violently in his 30 cm thick coat. … It wasn't _exactly_ 30 cm, but the Hoenn Dex Holder had stuffed his coat with enough clothing to give the others the impression that he weighed like 400 lbs.

In direct contrast, Diamond stood beside him, munching on a burger, wearing only his standard clothes. The Sinnoh native was quite tolerant to the cold. Though not as much as Platinum, who'd go around in blizzards wearing a skirt.

White was standing next to her seniors, wearing a moderately thick coat. Just like Blue and Silver, the Unova Dex Holder wasn't exactly weak to the sub-zero temperatures, but wasn't comfortable in it either.

Ruby let out a shuddering breath and complained about standing in a foot of snow, doing absolutely nothing. Blue kept her eyes on the sky. For her birthday, Platinum had sent her and her team to Snowpoint City, where they'd take a helicopter to far north of the city for some sightseeing. And, if lucky, they could even see the aurora borealis. If unlucky, they'd freeze their butts off and just spend the time skiing or snowball fighting.

Before Ruby became a human popsicle, the helicopter arrived at the only heliport of Snowpoint. Blue quickly got on board, as she was quite excited for this. Yes, she had a reputation to maintain in front of her juniors. But damn it, her life rarely gave her any pleasures. She was going to enjoy all that she got to their absolute fullest, even if it meant that she'd appear overly giddy and maybe even child-like.

Silver silently got on board, and Diamond followed. White and Ruby glanced at each other nervously for a second before they hesitantly boarded. Unlike the other 3 Dex Holders, Ruby and White weren't exactly thrilled to ride a helicopter. A private jet? Sure. A chopper? Nope.

The helicopter soon lifted off and Blue practically pressed herself against the windows to get the best possible view of everything. Silver… kept his eyes closed and dozed off. Diamond continued to eat stuff, and White and Ruby sat as if they were made of rocks. Rock-steady with eyes and fists clenched.

…

White groaned as the helicopter trembled a bit. She was started to get quite airsick, as she had never ridden on a helicopter before. Then again, neither did anyone else. She glanced at her seniors and noticed that Ruby was suffering worse than her. He was sitting perfectly upright like a statue. His face was discolored quite a bit too.

Diamond… never got sick, apparently. He continued to eat his snack and stared through the windows. Silver didn't seem to care about the scenes outside and just kept his arms crossed and his eyes closed so he could take a short nap. Blue was basically pressed against the window, taking tons of pictures of the scenes. She was sure having fun.

"Ohh…" Ruby and White groaned at the same time as the helicopter trembled a little again.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Blue asked as she tore herself away from the window.

"… First time… on a helicopter," Ruby groaned out.

"… Feeling… sick…" White added.

Blue grinned. "Oh, really?" She grabbed White by the shoulders and started to shake her.

"N – No, no!" White gasped out. "Don't!"

"From our point of view, the helicopter blades are spinning _so_ quickly," Blue said with a grin. "But from the blades' point of view, we're the ones spinning. Imagine that. Spinning at… however high the angular velocity is."

White clenched her eyes shut and pressed her lips together as the sudden thought of a rapid spinning motion forced her stomach to lurch. Blue let out a laugh and took a picture of her two juniors suffering before she resumed taking pictures of the scene outside.

"Wow, it's so beautiful outside," she muttered happily. "I got to thank Platinum for this when I get back."

The helicopter suddenly lurched. White and Ruby immediately groaned. Blue frowned and looked over at the pilot. Silver too, noticed something off and woke up from his nap.

"… Hey, pilot?" Blue called. "What's going on?"

"Gas leak!" the pilot replied. "We're losing power! The engines are failing!"

"… Seriously?" Blue asked, not willing to believe that her luck was so horrible and non-existent that a pleasurable vacation would end up causing a helicopter crash.

"Brace for emergency landing!" the pilot yelled.

White looked even more horror stricken and her face turned ghastly pale. Ruby… just froze up. Diamond stuffed his food in his bag and braced himself. Silver quietly tightened his safety harnesses and calmed down. Blue let out a long sigh.

"Son of a… … Oh, I figured this might happen… "Always be optimistic", huh? Yeah, right…"

The 5 Dex Holders all braced for impact as the helicopter fell out of the sky in a spiral, plummeting towards the uncharted land of ice and snow below.

It was pure luck that the helicopter didn't crash into ice and instead, hit mostly snow, only hitting the ice buried deep underneath the said snow. While the impact was strong enough to mangle the front half of the helicopter, it wasn't enough to cause an explosion.

…

Day 1…

…

Blue groaned as she put a hand on her neck. She slowly rotated her head to ensure that her neck wasn't injured in any way before she checked the other parts of her body. Once she was sure that all of her bones were fully intact and all of her body parts were fully functioning, she unbuckled her safety harness and crawled out of the wreckage.

She surveyed her surroundings. Just a few mountains and fields of snow. A frozen wasteland… fantastic. At least it wasn't that cold right now, with no winds. And the immediate area seemed to be safe. Blue went back inside the wreckage to save the others. She spotted White immediately, as the girl was sitting next to her. The Unova Dex Holder seemed to be unconscious, as she was sitting slumped against the seat. Blue unstrapped the girl's safety harness and dragged her out. She noticed that there was a cut on White's forehead with a bit of blood flowing from it. Blue checked the wound and was relieved to know that it wasn't a major one. A minor cut. Unless the Unova Dex Holder super exaggerated the tiny cut, there would not be any problems.

As Blue finished moving/dragging White away from the helicopter wreckage, there was a movement nearby and she immediately froze. Fortunately, it was just Silver dragging Ruby and Diamond away from the wreckage.

"Sis, are you okay?" Silver asked upon spotting his senior.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"I've had worse."

"What about them?"

"They'll live."

Blue moved White next to the others before moving back towards the helicopter. She checked on the pilot.

"So, what now?" Silver asked.

"Ugh… that's a lot of blood," Blue muttered. "… Yep… he's dead." She looked over at Silver. "It's not cold right now, so shelter's not an immediate concern. So come and salvage what you can from the wreckage."

…

Blue snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a loud scream from nearby. She looked over and noticed that White had woken up, and she was staring at the helicopter wreckage. Ruby and Diamond were stirring as well, mostly thanks to that scream. Silver kept walking back and forth towards the wreckage, salvaging all that was deemed useful.

"No, no, no!" White screamed. "This can't be happening!"

"White," Blue started. "… Calm down. We're not in trouble right now."

"But… what do we do? How do we get back?" White asked hastily.

"Relax," Diamond said. "We're all okay, aren't we? We can figure something out."

"Listen," Blue said. "The helicopter went down and the pilot is… well, dead. Meaning, someone will come for search and rescue. The control tower will notice a sudden lack of communication and send help. We just need to hold out until then."

White took a few deep breaths and steadily calmed down. "O – Okay…"

"Good. Now if you're done panicking… Ruby, Dia, go help Silver in salvaging stuff."

The two boys glanced at each other before looking at Blue. "… What about you?"

"Hey, at times like this, the boys do all the hard work. So get to it. Besides, I have to think about how we're going to survive."

…

The five Dex Holders gathered near the pile of stuff salvaged. Blue checked over the pile, taking note of all that was available and those that were missing.

"Okay, all of our stuff is okay," she muttered. "We all have our bags, and the contents inside don't seem damaged. And we have a lot of… magazines and books the pilot kept in the helicopter, along with an emergency hardware kit consisting of a hammer, a pack of nails, a small saw, measuring tape, a wrench, a screwdriver, and a bunch of stuff that we won't need. And we also have the helicopter's emergency flare with two shots, and a couple of emergency parachutes."

"So, what's the plan?" Ruby asked.

"We should stay by the wreckage," Blue answered. "As long as it's visible from the sky, when help arrives, this will be the very first place the rescuers will check."

Suddenly, the ground started to shake violently, and the ice started to crack. The 5 Dex Holders grabbed what they could and pulled away from the breaking ice. With a loud snap, the ice around the helicopter wreckage shattered and dragged the wreckage into the water.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me!" Blue yelled. "Can't I have _one vacation_ without fighting for survival?!" She quickly calmed down as she took a deep breath. Or as deep as she could without harming her lungs with the ice cold air. "… So much for that plan," she muttered as she watched the helicopter wreckage sink. "At least the salvaged pile is safe."

"… What do we do now?" White asked, appearing a bit afraid of the answer.

Blue didn't look worried. Just… annoyed. "… Well, it's a good thing I'm trained for this kind of stuff." She let out a sigh and strapped her bag over her shoulders. "Everyone, grab your stuff. Silver and Ruby, take everything you can from the salvage pile. We can't stay here anymore because the ice might shatter. We'll head south until we find someplace where we can stay until help arrives."

Silver and Ruby did exactly as told and packed up. They grabbed everything that Blue pointed out as necessary and stuffed them into their bags. Once everyone was packed, Blue glanced at her watch and the sun to determine the general compass directions.

"Okay, everyone," Blue said. "Put your sunglasses on, make sure your hats are on tight, coats are zipped up, and bootlaces tied. Once you're all set, we'll start moving."

Blue waited until everyone got ready before she made sure she was ready herself. She had her Silph Scope raised to her forehead, in a way that it wouldn't mess with her sunglasses or the cap of her new winter hat. Once she was ready, she started to walk south.

…

Blue occasionally glanced left and right as she walked. So far, there were no traces of anything. Just frozen mountains and fields. Maybe once she was past the mountain ahead of her, she would be able to see other things.

"You know," came Ruby's voice from behind. "Even though we're stranded in this desolate fridge, we're… kind of lucky. Very lucky."

Blue stopped in her tracks and looked at her junior. "… Define _lucky_."

"Well… we're stranded, yeah, but… with you two," Ruby said while looking back and forth between Blue and Silver. "The survival masters!" he exclaimed. "That's pretty lucky for us."

Blue frowned. "So… our horrible childhood is a _gain_ for you guys."

"… Yeah, kind of," White said. "I mean, I would much rather be stranded with you guys than with… say, Sapphire and Platinum."

Silver spoke up. "A study showed that there is a 90% mortality rate of completely untrained people getting stranded like this. So in our case, with 3 completely untrained people, I expect we'll have one hell of a time trying to survive."

White frowned as she looked over at her senior. "… Who conducted this study?"

"The institute of SHUT YOUR FAT FACE!" Silver suddenly snapped at her.

White almost jumped in surprise. "… Hey, that hurt…" she mumbled out. She soon pouted a little and crossed her arms. "Just because we're not trained…"

"So you better get ready to do a lot of work," Silver said as he lightened his expression a little.

Blue sighed and shook her head. "… Let's just… keep moving and find a place to set up camp before a whiteout effect happens."

"Whiteout?" Diamond asked.

"… A me-out?" White asked as well. "What?"

"No, no. A whiteout," Blue said. "It's an effect that happens when enough light filters through the clouds, gets reflected off the ice and snow, then reflected again off the clouds and back and forth repeatedly. It erases all shadows and makes stuff impossible to see because of the infinite reflections of bright light. You'll need sunglasses to avoid damage to your eyes, but it's impossible to navigate. So you'll have to stand still and wait it out."

"Something tells me that you won't be affected by that," Ruby said.

"Let's just say that a whiteout causes no visibility problems for someone who has thermal and sonar vision," Blue replied as she tapped her Silph Scope.

Ruby smiled. "Like I said, the survival masters!"

Blue growled. "Shut it or I might not save you if you get lost during the whiteout."

Ruby instantly fell quiet and dropped his smile. "… Yes, ma'am…"

…

The group continued to head south. Blue was in the lead, White following second, Diamond in the middle, Ruby 4th, and Silver last.

White stared at Blue's feet and silently followed. It was hard to believe that a vacation could end in such a disaster. And while she believed in Blue's skills and experiences, she was still worried sick. Food and shelter were two major concerns. Yes, the Dex Holders had a couple of tents and a few sleeping bags. But in the middle of a frozen wilderness, a tent and sleeping bag wouldn't provide anywhere near enough warmth for a person to survive. And food… that was more worrisome. 5 people weren't going to last forever with just a bag full of emergency food. Especially with _someone_ eating at every waking minute. Hunting wouldn't be a very good solution either. Hunt _what_ and _how_ in the middle of a frozen wasteland with nothing but a tiny _hammer_ from the hardware kit?

White shook her head. She'd really not think about it. They say ignorance is bliss, particularly in this kind of situation. So she'd pretend to have no thoughts about the future and just trust Blue with everything.

While lost in thought, White blinked. At one moment, she could see her senior's feet clearly, and the winter pants and coat over her slim figure in the peripheral vision. In the next moment, all she could see was whiteness. As if the immediate area around her was covered in white paint. Or something like that. And it was _really_ bright. So bright that White was forced to close her eyes even with her sunglasses on. And immediately, she felt lost in the middle of nowhere, with no one to reach out for help. Severe sense of panic came over her and she started to hyperventilate. But she heard Blue's sigh from directly ahead and she was able to calm down significantly.

"… For once, I'd like _something_ to go according to plan," came Blue's flat mutters.

"Uh… help?" came Ruby's voice from behind. "I'm hearing voices, but not seeing the owners of the voices!"

Blue took off her sunglasses and lowered her Silph Scope over her eyes. She flicked it on, setting the visibility mode to thermal. Everything in front of her turned blue in the thermal vision. She slowly turned around to face her juniors. She counted 3 reddish orange figures clustered pretty close to one another. … Wait, 3?

Blue looked left and right and soon spotted another reddish orange blob wandering around.

"Hey, everyone, stop moving!" she ordered, as she didn't exactly know who the blob was. The wandering blob stopped moving. "Now stay still. I can see you, so don't panic."

Blue walked over towards the blob and realized that it was Ruby, given the overall size. White would appear much smaller in the thermal vision, Diamond wasn't as tall and wouldn't be shivering. And Silver… wouldn't be wandering around in the first place. Blue grabbed Ruby by the wrist and dragged him towards the group.

"Well, since we got screwed over again," Blue started. "We'll have to slowly but steadily get going. We want to get to a suitable shelter location before things start to get colder. So everyone, grab each other's hands."

The 4 Dex Holders tried to do as told. Kind of hard, since they couldn't see each other. Blue let out a long sigh. Did she have to do _everything_? She took Silver's hand and connected it to Diamond's. She then took Diamond's other hand and connected it to Ruby. Ruby's other hand now held White's, and Blue herself took the Unova Dex Holder's other hand.

"Alright, everyone's connected now. If you lose grip on someone, stop moving and speak up. I'll come and save you."

"Thank you," White said. "You're really dependable on times like this."

"Survival master!" Ruby spoke up.

Blue grumbled but didn't reply. She switched the settings on her Silph Scope to sonar vision so she could see into the distance. She focused on the two mountains detected in the distance and started to walk in that direction.

The Dex Holders walked towards the mountains for a couple of hours. Since the mountains weren't too far away, the Dex Holders were able to reach their bases in reasonable time. But since they weren't the final destination, Blue took the time to scan around with her sonar vision to determine the next destination.

"… Huh? What's that?" she muttered as she stared at a… building ahead. Or what once was a building. The other Dex Holders didn't know what she was talking about, as they didn't have the means to see through the whiteout. "… Oh, right. You can't see…"

"What do you see?" White asked.

"It looks like an abandoned military outpost," Blue replied as she zoomed in with her Silph Scope. "There might be stuff to salvage there. Let's go."

…

By the time the Dex Holders arrived at the abandoned military outpost, the whiteout effect had been lifted. The outpost… was no longer an outpost. It was just a small elevated structure that seemed to have been destroyed by an explosive device.

Blue stared at the wreckage, trying to determine what it was supposed to be. A watchtower? Sniper post? Bunker?

Silver and the others approached the destroyed structure, trying to find something useful. White spotted a suspicious pile of snow. It was as if something big was underneath and constant snowfall just covered it up. She crouched down and brushed away the snow. The object was soon uncovered enough for the girl to see what it was, and…

White let out a horrified shriek as she fell backwards. The other Dex Holders quickly came to see what was wrong and spotted the object White uncovered. A soldier. Or what used to be a soldier, now just a skeleton wearing a uniform. And White had unluckily uncovered the skull first, which was what scared her.

Blue uncovered the rest of the body while White went to hide behind Ruby. Blue stared at the corpse for a while.

"So… this guy died from an explosion," Blue muttered. "Given how his lower half isn't connected to the upper and his uniform is in tatters."

"A – And you're not _scared_?" White asked in disbelief.

Blue blinked. "Oh, right. I mean… um… How horrible!"

Ruby, Diamond, and White simply stared at their senior. Blue coughed a few times to clear the awkward air around her, but failed. So she gave up on that. Instead, she proceeded to uncover the snow around the skeleton. She soon found something worth salvaging. The dead soldier's weapon: a bolt action rifle.

Blue slowly picked up the weapon. She pulled the bolt handle and the rifle made an extremely satisfying "click" sound. She started to grin. Oh, things were starting to look up now…

* * *

><p><strong>Note that Survival – Red and Survival – Blue takes place at the exact same time. So does Survival – Green, if I do decide to continue with it. Meaning, all 15 Dex Holders were stranded one way or the other at the exact same time from the exact same event (Platinum's idea of having no-Pokémon trips to celebrate Emerald and Blue's birthdays and boost intergenerational cooperation).<strong>

**Next up (non-DHC):  
>Survival – Blue Part 2. The Dex Holders salvage a handy tool from the abandoned outpost but little else. And food shortage forces them to start hunting. Much to Blue's dismay, the rest of her team is just looking up to her and Silver to carry them through. Those worthless little…<strong>


	32. Survival Blue Part 2

**By the way, ****new poll on profile. A survey, since I don't think my latest news update method is exactly working out. Again. So there's the survey/poll. This message shall appear on every update that's a part of this mass-update. … So every story's latest chapter.**

**Category: SR.**

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><p>Chapter 32: Survival – Blue Part 2<p>

Blue stared at the newly obtained bolt action rifle. The three "weak" Dex Holders (Ruby, Diamond, White) backed away a little from the sudden introduction of a weapon while Silver searched through the pockets of the dead soldier's uniform.

"Okay…" Blue muttered. "An old fashioned bolt action rifle, no scope, no bayonet, long barrel, intact sling…" She pulled the bolt handle again to take a look inside the chamber. Or at least as much as possible. "… 5 round magazine…" Blue smirked and looked down the sights. "I haven't used one of these since…" she trailed off as she realized she was receiving suspicious stares from her "weak" juniors. "I mean… since _ever_. I never used one of these!"

"… Blue?" White muttered in shock. "… … _Blue_?!"

"Damn it, my image is changing every hour, isn't it?" Blue muttered. With a sigh, she slung the rifle over her shoulder. "Well, it can't be helped."

"Sis, I found these from the guy's pockets," Silver said as he present Blue a handful of stuff.

"25 spare bullets in chains of 5, a knife, and a map…" Blue stuffed the spare bullets into her pockets and let Silver keep the knife. She took the map and spread it open. "Let's see what we got…"

The 5 Dex Holders stared at the map and simply blinked. A completely blank map with a random circle drawn in the middle that indicated an outpost location. Blue folded the map and set it next to the skeleton.

"Well, that was helpful. I think this guy needs it more than us." Blue slowly moved around the destroyed remnants of the outpost, clearing piles of snow for suspicious places. Eventually, she found an intact locker. "Oh, here's something."

"I don't think we can crack it," Silver said. He took out the knife he got from the skeleton. "We can just break the lock, though."

The "weak" Dex Holders simply stood in silence and watched the two _trained_ Dex Holders go on about their business. White took a scoop of snow and used it to cover the skull of the dead soldier.

Blue took the knife from Silver and used it to smash the lock open. She returned the knife and opened the locker. She found a radio that no longer worked, some batteries, a rifle scope, and a small belt of spare bullets. She took the batteries, the scope, and the spare bullets. So she now had a total of 55 bullets. Probably more than enough.

"Alright… Ruby, Dia, White… make two snowmen, would you?" Blue said to the "weak" Dex Holders.

The three Dex Holders silently did as told, not willing to disobey their senior, especially after what they saw. A few minutes later, there were two full sized snowmen.

Blue approached them and made a large fist sized hole into the "head" of the first snowman, deep enough for her entire fist to fit, but not any deeper.

"… Blue? What are you doing?"

Blue casually un-slung her rifle. She set off the safety and took 100 steps away from the snowmen. She turned to face the snowmen and raised the rifle. Silver slowly walked to stand behind Blue and the 3 "weak" Dex Holders quickly scurried away.

"Let's see how accurate this thing is," Blue muttered as she looked down the sight. She aimed for the fist sized hole she made and pulled the trigger. With a loud crack, the rifle fired, cleanly hitting the hole she made.

"Nice shot, sis," Silver said. He approached the second snowman and with his finger, poked a small hole into its head. "Now use that scope from farther away and see how you do."

Blue shrugged and took 200 steps backwards after pulling the bolt handle to eject the spent casing. The "weak" Dex Holders followed her. Blue went prone on the snow, with the rifle aimed at the second snowman. She attached the rifle scope and adjusted it a little. She eyed the tiny hole with the scope and fired.

Silver approached the second snowman and checked. The bullet hole was made exactly where he made the small hole with his finger.

"Nice shot," he said as Blue came over with her rifle lowered.

"Thanks."

Blue pulled the bolt handle to eject the second spent casing. She took off the scope and put it in her bag. She then put the safety on for her rifle and slung it over her shoulder. She looked over at the 3 "weak" Dex Holders, who were still staring at her with looks of surprise and a little fear.

"Alright!" Blue said oddly cheerfully. "Let's keep going." The "weak" Dex Holders still remained frozen in place. Blue narrowed her eyes and tapped her rifle. "Let's. Keep. Going," she repeated slowly. The 3 "weak" Dex Holders immediately obeyed and began to march.

The group kept walking. For some reason, Blue was in the back of the group, _herding_ the "weak" Dex Holders forward.

Ruby glanced back at Blue. "… Are we prisoners or something?"

"Huh?"

"You know… we're marching in front of you, you have a rifle in your hands, and we're walking in a single file."

Blue rolled her eyes and increased her pace. "Fine, I'll stay ahead of you guys. Since you _brave_ men can't stay in the lead, the _girls_ will stay in the front."

…

Few hours later…

…

White started to shiver. It was getting cold thanks to the constant wind. And she didn't eat anything so her body couldn't produce enough heat. But she had no idea what to do to solve the problems and could only hope that Blue knew.

Blue suddenly stopped in her tracks, which caused White to bump into her, Ruby to bump into White, and Diamond to bump into Ruby. Silver… had already stopped, so he didn't join the human domino.

"Shelter time!" Blue exclaimed. "And this is the perfect place to do it."

White blinked and scanned around. All she could see was nothingness. The mountains were quite far away, and the nearest body of water was quite a ways away too. "… Where? There's nothing here."

"Make an igloo!" Blue said. "If we build a shelter too close to the mountains, there's a chance that rescue planes will miss us because of the mountains. And an avalanche would completely screw us over. If we build a shelter too close to the nearest body of water, we'll have to walk even farther to find food sources, because wild animals would stay away from us. Well, the animals that we'd want, anyways. We don't want polar bears knocking on our igloo door every day around dinner time."

"But… how do make one?"

Blue set the recovered tool pack down on the snow. "Alright boys," she said to the 3 male Dex Holders. "… Get to work."

"Wait, what? What about you?" Ruby asked.

"Since when did the _girls_ do all the work? You strong men handle this."

"But… you're stronger than…" Ruby tried to object. But Blue had tapped her rifle again, which immediately shut him up. He picked up a small saw and began to cut blocks of snow. He sighed as his fellow male Dex Holders joined him. "And this, my friends, is how our slavery begins."

"Oh, stop whining," Blue said from the side. "Remember, this is for _your_ benefit too."

Ruby kept grumbling as he continued to cut blocks of snow. Diamond and Silver moved the cut blocks and arranged them in a large circle, big enough for 5 Dex Holders to stay without being cramped.

Ruby occasionally glared at White, who wasn't helping out at all. The girl flinched from his glares, as she felt guilty for not doing anything. But apparently, Blue was determined to get the boys to do all the work. Or most, anyways.

"White, while the boys do their work, I think we should make a distress signal around here," Blue said after a little while.

"How?"

"Stomp on snow to make a large X sign. That's a distress sign. Just make it 6 times as long as it is wide."

"Stomping on snow? How would people even see that?"

"Light reflection. Stomp on snow by enough, and the stomped snow would reflect light at a different angle, so it becomes really noticeable in the air. Trust me on this."

"Okay."

"And while we're doing that, let's chat. I'm sure you have questions for me."

The two girls walked away so they could chat and make the distress signal in peace. Seeing them walk away, Ruby and Diamond sighed in relief and proceeded to take things slowly.

"So… why do you insist in getting the guys to do all the work?" White asked Blue once they were far enough from the boys.

"Because they're better workhorses," Blue answered nonchalantly. "They're stronger, have more stamina and endurance, and are usually compliant to our _requests_. At the same time, if you leave it to them to plan and come up with ideas… things get _very_ messy. It's best for them to do tasks that require no thoughts."

"… Right."

"Every now and then, there are anomalies. Sapphire, for example. She's a workhorse. Do _not_ let her plan things. And Emerald. He's better off doing the planning, but only under supervision. And there are those who can do both. Green, for example. And Ruby, as long as there's no dirt anywhere."

"I see."

Blue smiled as she patted her junior on the shoulder. "White, the very first thing you should do is getting to know every Dex Holder. Not just hanging out with them, but measure their… potential and capability. This is important."

White tilted her head. "How so? It's not like I'll be ordering anyone around. I'm the junior."

Blue laughed. "Of course, if things are going to stay like this forever, I wouldn't tell you anything like this. But one day, you're going to be _the_ senior, with the future Dex Holders as your junior. And when that happens, you want to do to them what I'm doing to everyone else. Know them and learn how to use them."

"Oh, I see. So as practice, I should start learning how to properly measure everyone's capability." A thought occurred and White soon frowned. "Why not teach Lady Platinum, then? I think she'll be better than me."

"Truth be told, I've been looking for a… successor, if you will, for many years now. Yellow, Crys, Sapphire, Platinum… they all have issues. You're the only one who won't have any problems. And I want my successor to learn everything I know."

"… Me? Your successor?"

"Yes. Yellow can't be my successor because she won't be able to use anything I teach her. And she's not that younger than me, so there's no point. Crys… doesn't want me to teach her. I tried, but she rejected my offer. Sapphire's too aggressive, so is ill suited. Platinum's quite suitable, but isn't perfect. She's not that good with emotions based things, so she won't be able to understand people's feelings in certain situations."

"So… I'm the best candidate?"

"Yep. Trust me. I'm never wrong with these kinds of things. All I have to do is teach you and guide you in the right direction."

"Well… um… thank you."

…

Two hours later…

…

Blue and White returned to the constructing igloo, expecting it to be completed. And… it was! Those boys sure knew how to work.

"Good work, everyone!" Blue said with a bright smile.

"… Where's Ruby?" White asked. She could see Silver and Diamond staring at the igloo with a blank look. "… Um… hello?"

"Help!" came Ruby's voice from inside the igloo. "I can't get out!"

Blue sighed and smacked a hand over her face. "… Oh… You guys forgot to make a _door_, didn't you?"

Silver and Diamond slowly nodded. Blue shook her head and lowered her Silph Scope. With thermal imaging, she could see Ruby running around in circles, trying to find a way out.

"I can't breathe!" Ruby yelled again.

Blue sighed again. "… Well, let's get him out!"

Silver and Diamond took different tools from the toolbox and proceeded to hammer the walls until it caved in and collapsed.

Ruby stumbled out through the smashed wall and collapsed onto the snow. "Freedom!"

Blue sat next to him and tapped him on the arm. "Enjoy it while you last. Clearly, I can't leave you boys alone, so you'll all be under my supervision from now on."

"Oh…"

"First things first!" Blue yelled. "Fix the igloo! It's going to get dark soon!"

"… When are we going to eat?" Diamond asked. "I'm hungry and I ran out of snacks."

"… You ran out already?" White asked. "… You ate them all?"

"There wasn't much," Diamond said.

"It's a good thing we have the rifle, then. First thing tomorrow morning, we're going hunting!"

"But… we're hungry now," Diamond said with a groan.

"We'll hunt tomorrow! You do _not_ want to get caught outside in the dark."

"Fine…"

…

3 days later, Day 4…

…

"So… hungry…"

"Oh, I don't even want to think about food… it's too painful…"

"I feel like we're going to die…"

"Would you three shut up?!" Blue screamed at the three "weak" Dex Holders. "I know you're hungry! I'm starving too! But if you guys didn't screw up hunting every time, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

The three Dex Holders fell silent, but still grumbled silently. Silver kept his mouth shut and continued walking in silence. But he was starving too…

"She's in a bad mood these days," Ruby whispered to White.

"She's just hungry and frustrated," White replied equally quietly. "Just be careful around her. She might snap soon."

Blue soon turned to face the other Dex Holders. Immediately, the others could see that her eyes were twitching and she had her teeth clenched.

"… Listen up," she growled out. "… If you mess up the hunt again… There will be _hell_ to pay. So don't. Screw. Up. If you sneeze again and give away our position… If you trip again while rushing towards our catch and end up pushing it back into the water… I will push one of you underwater and keep you there. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am," Ruby muttered.

"Dia, still have all the tools?"

Diamond nodded. "In the rear with the gear."

"Good. Now let's hope that we don't have to eat snow for dinner…"

The starving Dex Holders continued towards the nearest body of water. It wasn't too far away, but it did require a 30 minute walk from the igloo (which had a makeshift red flag made from scarf pieces to make it visible from the distance). Upon arriving at the body of water, the Dex Holders proceeded to follow the water until they found something to hunt, whether that'd be something looking for a drink, or something emerging from underwater for air.

While walking, White glanced over at the water. On the other side of this icy river quite a distance behind them, there was a small family of seals that just emerged. While the big ones spotted the "hunters" and dived into the water again, the smallest one didn't. It simply watched the hunters from afar curiously.

"Aww," White muttered. "It's so cute… a baby seal…"

"Where?!" Blue yelled as she quickly looked around. She soon spotted the baby seal in the distance and raised her rifle. "Good boy! Now stay still…"

"No!" White cried out. "Don't shoot it! It's so cute!"

"It won't be for long!"

"You can't hurt it! It's just a baby!"

"This won't hurt! … For long, anyways!"

Despite White's protest, Blue fired the rifle, hitting the baby seal in the head. The seal dropped dead and its body didn't move in the slightest, meaning that it wouldn't slide back into the water.

"Yes!" Diamond cheered. "Food!"

"But… how do we get it?" Ruby asked.

Blue lowered her rifle and looked to her left and her right. The dead seal was on the other side of the icy river that was too far to jump across and there was no visible way of crossing the river.

"… I don't know. You figure it out," Blue said. "We'll continue downstream and find more stuff to hunt. Until we come back, try to have that seal on our side of the river."

Ruby simply stared at the dead seal. How was he supposed to get it? He turned to ask Blue something, but the other Dex Holders were already far away, continuing with their hunt. Ruby sighed and walked as close as he could to the dead seal.

… An ice bridge? That'll take a LOT of snow and ice, which he couldn't move without the tools.

The river wasn't that wide, but wide enough that it was impossible to jump across. Maybe Sapphire could make that jump… He just didn't have enough speed.

Ruby blinked as a thought occurred. "Speed!"

He still had his Running Shoes as a part of his spare clothes set. Which was in his bag. That he left behind in the igloo. Now all he had to do was go back, get his Running Shoes, come back, and hope that the dead seal wasn't relocated by anything…

…

Several hours later…

…

Ruby returned to the igloo once more, dragging the deal seal with him. A polar bear had moved to take the dead seal away, so he had to fight for it. Of course, a hand-to-paw combat wasn't going to work. He wasn't Sapphire. So he had to fight it from the distance. It was relatively simple. He threw snowballs at it from across the river. Whenever the bear got pissed and charged at him, he jumped across with his Running Shoes and continued with the snowballs. He had to repeat the process for many hours before the bear gave up and decided that it wasn't worth the effort. While the seal wouldn't have been worth the effort for the bear, but for the Dex Holders, it was a lifeline. It had to be secured at all costs. And it was. And it was freaking heavy… But at least the trail of blood would make it easy for the other Dex Holders to follow and know that the seal was secured.

Ruby stuffed the dead seal into a pile of snow next to the igloo and stared at it. White said it was cute. But right now, all he could see was a future barbeque. Yes, it was barbaric, but damn it, he was starving and tired. … Sapphire must never know of this…

Now… how would the Dex Holders even eat this? Cooking it whole wasn't an option. Diamond would probably take over for the cooking, but… … did someone have to cut it into pieces? And was that someone… Ruby? Uh oh… He had to avoid doing that. The cutting and gutting process was very nasty. And he wasn't going to do that. Ever. He had to come up with an excuse…

And very quickly, as the other Dex Holders were coming back while dragging a bigger seal behind them. Ruby quickly hid inside the igloo and pretended to be asleep. Surely they won't wake him up for this nasty task…

He concentrated on his hearing, and he could hear Blue giving out the orders.

"Alright! Good hunting, boys. And good work dragging our catch all the way here. Now. You all know what to do."

"Let's eat!" Diamond yelled in joy.

"That's right. Cut it, gut it, skin it. _Then_ we eat."

"Ugh…" White groaned. "That'll be nasty…"

"Yes it is. Too disgusting," Blue agreed. "For us girls, that is."

"Oh, no…" Diamond muttered.

"White and I will prepare the fire and get ready to cook. You boys deal with the carcass. Okay? Time for you men to do your job."

"Where's Ruby?" Silver asked. "We'll need another pair of hands here."

"He's probably hiding in the igloo," Blue said. "Get him out here."

White entered the igloo and spotted Ruby sleeping. "Um… he's asleep!"

"No he isn't," Blue said from the outside. "Just stick a snowball in his shirt and he'll come crawling out."

White kneeled next to her senior and shook him. "Ruby? Wake up. We need you."

Ruby didn't move and focused on pretending to be asleep. White tried to wake him up a few more times before she resorted to underhanded tactics. She took a large snowball and shoved it down his shirt from the back. She then forced him to lie down on his back and held him down.

"… Okay, okay!" Ruby cried out in surrender. "… I'll help…"

Ruby grumbled and crawled out of the igloo. Silver tossed a knife next to his feet. Ruby sighed and picked it up. Silver and Diamond had moved the two seals so they would be easily prepared.

"… So… what do I do?"

"Gut it," Silver ordered, pointing at the baby seal. "Diamond and I will take the bigger one."

"How? You gave me the only knife."

Silver pulled out the saw that was used during the igloo construction. "No worries." He put the saw blade on the seal's neck. "… Don't just look at me. Get to work!"

Ruby groaned as Silver proceeded to cut the seal's neck. He crouched next to the dead baby seal and looked at the knife. … This was going to suck…

"… I never thought I'd say this, but… I miss Sapphire…"

* * *

><p><strong>Note that Survival – Red and Survival – Blue takes place at the exact same time. So does Survival – Green, if I do decide to continue with it. Meaning, all 15 Dex Holders were stranded one way or the other at the exact same time from the exact same event (Platinum's idea of having no-Pokémon trips to celebrate Emerald and Blue's birthdays and boost intergenerational cooperation). Talk about a crappy, crappy luck…<strong>

**Next up (non-DHC):  
>Survival – Blue Part 3. Defend the igloo! The home is raided by predators, looking to steal the precious food supply. Fight them off and add them to the food supply and find a way out of the fridge of a wasteland!<strong>


	33. Survival Blue Part 3

**Advertisement: SA2 is live. Go to my Tumblr blog to find the links to SA2 and its creator. It's very good! This ad will appear in every story.**

**Also, alert: after much consideration, I decided to discontinue every "series" of SR. Well, after this one ends, anyways. Having SR be "choice" locked into a series isn't exactly good. As such, after this chapter, SR will only feature the mindless humors. As it was originally intended. There may be single chapters of total randomness (zombie apocalypse, for example), but never a series.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 33: Survival – Blue Part 3<p>

Blue and White crawled out of the igloo to check on the progress of the "nasty" job. Silver kept sawing the meat off of the dead animals in complete silence, Ruby looked quite pale as he tried to bury the organs in the snow without getting any blood on him, and Diamond moved the cut pieces of meat while drooling.

"Great work, boys!" Blue said with a smile. "Dia, come back inside and start cooking. Ruby, keep track of those organs. We'll use them as bait when the time comes. And when you're done, store the leftover meat in a little snow cave. Like a refrigerator! And Silver, keep doing what you're doing."

"Uh… how much meat should we cook?" Diamond asked, hoping for a good answer.

"We're all starving, so let's cook until we can eat no more!"

"Um… shouldn't we save some just in case?" White asked.

"There's no way we'll be able to eat all the meat," Blue said. "And besides, we need to eat for energy and body heat. Once we had our fill, we'll start saving food and plan an escape."

Diamond grabbed all the meat he could carry and crawled into the igloo so that he could start cooking. White realized something and chased him.

"Diamond, wait! Don't spill any blood inside the igloo! I just cleaned the place!"

…

Few hours later…

…

Diamond fell backwards with an extremely satisfied look on his face. White let out a yawn as she sat back in a comfortable position. Now that everyone was full, they didn't care about anything. They were just perfectly happy…

"So… now that we're full… what do we do?" White asked.

"Let's not do anything for a bit," Diamond said as he closed his eyes.

Blue sighed and shook her head. "In normal circumstances, I'd call you a lazy bum," she said to Diamond. "But right now… I'm with you on this one."

"… Well, as you command!" Ruby exclaimed. He lied down and lazily stretched his limbs. "Ohh… this feels so good…"

Silver watched the other 4 Dex Holders all slacking off and silently left the igloo. There was no way he'd join the rest in dozing off like this, doing absolutely nothing. Knowing Blue, she'll probably have more orders after everyone finished screwing around. So Silver decided to do those tasks before Blue gave the order. Made things… faster and more efficient.

So, what would be next? Probably making distress signals. More of them, since some were made earlier. More the better.

…

Next day, Day 5, 3 am…

…

White frowned in her sleep as she heard something unusual. Like a bark or a howl… She slowly woke up and sat up, trying to determine what was real and what was a dream. She looked alerted as she heard shuffling of legs, as if someone or something was running closer. But a lot of them.

She slowly and quietly crawled towards the igloo entrance, careful not to wake up anyone else. Just as she reached the entrance, something charged inside. A wolf.

White screamed as she scrambled backwards. The wolf howled, signaling more of its kind before charging over. Just before its fangs reached White, it toppled over to the side. The girl blinked and noticed a knife sticking out of its throat. She glanced back and saw Silver looking perfectly awake, with his hands still in the throw-position.

There was a loud clicking noise from the side. White looked over and spotted Blue getting up to her knees with her rifle in hand.

"Battle stations! Everyone up!" she ordered.

Silver pulled the knife out of the dead wolf and prepared to leave. Ruby and Diamond grabbed whatever they could and got ready as well. White hesitated, but decided to go on a support role for Diamond and Ruby.

Blue crawled out of the igloo first, keeping all of her juniors safe until she secured the exit. A wolf immediately charged at her, forcing her to block its fangs with the barrel of her rifle. She still forced her way out so that she had enough room to slam her knee into the jaw of the wolf. She then shot it at point blank range, grabbing the attention of the other wolves that were trying to eat the leftover meat stored in the makeshift refrigerator.

"They're trying to eat our food!" Diamond cried out as he saw around the exit. He hefted the hammer from the toolbox. "They won't get away!"

White blinked. So… Diamond, the boy who's usually so calm and mellow, gets _really_ furious if someone or something tried to steal his food. Wait… but he doesn't get this upset if something happens to Platinum… So food first, Platinum second. Okay.

Blue lowered her Silph Scope and backed off just in time to avoid being bitten. Now that she could see in the dark, she realized that there were a lot more wolves than she thought. There were 20 or so. Multiple packs working together?

Blue shot the nearest wolf. The packs didn't matter. What mattered was that nothing would be stealing food. And the wolves that die… will be added to the food pile. Hey, it's a survival. Eat anything that won't kill those that eat it.

Fighting off the wolves wasn't that hard. Blue was the only one outside of the igloo, with Silver and Ruby waiting in the entrance in order to support her. Diamond and White remained inside the igloo, ready to drag Silver and Ruby inside if things went south.

A small handful of wolves charged for Blue. The girl shot one and stepped back. As the wolves passed the entrance of the igloo, Silver stabbed one and Ruby hammered another, distracting the other wolves for enough time for Blue to shoot another one. Whenever she had to reload, she declared it to Ruby and Silver, who then fought extra hard until she finished reloading.

The process repeated until all the wolves were dead. Blue kept her rifle ready and scanned the area. She soon let out a sigh of relief and raised her Silph Scope.

"Alright! Area's clear!" she declared. "Time to clean up this mess!"

But before the Dex Holders could start cleaning the area, there was a loud roar from behind the igloo. Ruby spun around and spotted a polar bear roaring while hammering the wall of the igloo.

"… Is that the one that I pissed off?"

Blue let out a sigh. "Oh, for crying out loud… Everyone, defend the igloo!"

Silver and Ruby quickly got the bear's attention, thus preventing the total destruction of the igloo. But the bear charged straight towards the two Dex Holders. Even though Blue quickly reached for her two juniors, the bear still tackled Ruby into the igloo wall, smashing him through.

"Ruby!" White cried out.

Blue calmed herself with a couple of deep breaths and finished reloading her rifle. She walked up towards the bear and aimed the rifle.

"I am sick and tired of this kind of sh*t continuously happening!" she yelled in anger as he repeatedly fired.

The bear tried to dodge, but all 5 shots hit it in various places. It roared in anger and towered over Blue, who reloaded once more. The bear let out a furious roar, trying to intimidate its prey before attacking. Blue didn't even blink as she shoved the barrel of her rifle into the bear's mouth and fired.

Even after the bear toppled backwards with a chunk of its head missing, Blue kept her icy glare. The other Dex Holders were all silent due to her sudden change. White carefully supported Ruby out of the igloo wreckage, even though he was fine. Just a little oversell.

Blue let out a long sigh as she ejected the spent casing. She put a new bullet in the rifle and put the safety on. She slung the rifle over her back and turned to face the other Dex Holders.

"Ruby… come here, let's see if you need any medical attention," she said, her voice devoid of cheerfulness.

"Uh… I'm fine," Ruby replied as he proceeded to stand on his own strength. "Just a minor bruise."

Blue smiled in an attempt to return to being cheerful. "In that case…" she glanced around the battlefield that was littered with bodies. "… Skin them, gut them, cut them," she ordered. "Dia and I will begin repairing the igloo and White will clean up all the spent shells."

Ruby blinked. He immediately began to limp. "O – On second thought…"

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Ruby, you and I will repair that igloo. But only enough so that we can spend the remainder of the night. In the morning, we're moving. Dia and Silver, get to work on those bodies."

…

Several hours later, the Dex Holders awoke one by one. Blue stayed awake to keep an eye on the surroundings and used the time to move all the cut pieces of meat into snowballs for the sake of storage, and moved those snowballs into one of the emergency parachutes for easy transport. As such, all the Dex Holders had to do was drag that parachute towards the new destination.

Blue led the group far, but not too far as she still needed to keep the hunting option viable. Upon arrival, she ordered the others to work. This time, White and Diamond went to make the distress signals and Silver and Ruby got to work on the new igloo. Blue patrolled around with her rifle, just in case another predator or pack of hunters showed up.

Ruby glanced to his sides and suddenly sat down once he deemed that Blue was far enough away. Silver paid no heed and continued to hammer away at the thick ice and snow. The Hoenn Dex Holder reached into his bag and took out his harmonica, which he then began to play.

"… Put that thing away," Silver said. "We're not convicts forced into labor."

Ruby kept playing the instrument and looked ahead where Blue was patrolling around with her rifle in hand.

"… Sure seems like it."

…

Several days later, Day[9]…

…

White simply blinked as she stared at her senior. Diamond looked… horrible. He seemed to have lost like half of his weight. His eyes were out of focus and he seemed to be wobbling from the slight wind.

"… Um… Diamond? Are you okay?"

"… So… hungry," the Sinnoh Dex Holder mumbled. "… Must eat…"

"… We just ate like an hour ago!"

"Must… _eat_," Diamond repeated as he stared at his junior. "Need… food!"

White quickly put her hands up in defense. "Please don't eat me!"

Diamond frowned. "What, are you crazy? I'm not going to eat you. Just prepare the fire!"

Diamond rushed towards the "refrigerator" and drooled as he stared at the stored meat. White looked around to see if Blue was remotely nearby and hesitantly prepared the fire to cook the stored meat.

"… Blue's going to kill us if she finds out," she muttered with a sigh. "… _When_ she finds out. In like a few hours. Or minutes. The moment she arrives, she's going to notice the smell. If not, then she'd definitely notice the huge chunk of food missing from the storage. We'll be in so much trouble… she'll be so mad at us…"

"Would you relax?" Diamond asked as he dragged like a third of the stored meat towards the fire. "All we have to do is hunt more!"

"… You're going to wipe out all local life, you know that?"

"They'll be fine!"

Blue returned to the igloo after a scouting run an hour later. And, just as White feared, the very first thing she noticed was the smell. She immediately went to the "meat refrigerator" and noticed that a third of it was missing. She quickly put the two together to figure out what happened.

She called for a Dex Holder meeting. Ruby and Silver came towards her, as they had no idea what happened. Diamond looked ever so calm… while White looked to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Blue pointed at the refrigerator. "… Who ate all this?"

Ruby and Silver glared at Diamond and White. White gulped and eyed Diamond.

Blue stared at the Sinnoh boy with an ice cold glare. "… Did you just eat our whole week's worth of food in an _hour_?"

"Well… uh… I have to say, if that was our whole week's worth, then I would have starved to death in no time," Diamond said, avoiding eye contact.

Blue let out a long sigh as she stopped glaring at her junior. "… _Sometimes_, I _really_ wish things just went according to plan… Since we're cursed with the bottomless eating machine, we'll have to hunt for food 10 times as much."

Silver and Ruby slowly turned to glare at Diamond once more, as they knew what was coming. The Sinnoh Dex Holder rubbed the back of his head as he waited for Blue to finish.

"So. Boys, you're on permanent hunting duty," Blue declared. "Every day for basically the whole day, you'll have to hunt for food and bring whatever you find back to the camp. But since we don't have infinite number of bullets, you'll have to use knives and spears. So good hunting."

"… What have you done?" Ruby ominously asked Diamond.

"Uh… I'll make it up to you?" Diamond tried with a smile. "I can prepare some really good food!"

"Yes, do that," Blue said. "Silver, Ruby, you two are on the hunting duty. Dia, you cook."

"And what are you going to do?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing, of course. Like I said, at times like this, the boys do all the hard work."

Ruby and Silver glared at White. The Unova girl flinched and avoided eye contact. Sure, she was going to be very comfortable doing absolutely nothing straining, but… she sure felt guilty. The youngest Dex Holder, doing nothing while her seniors did all the hard work…

…

Next day, Day 10…

…

The boys were out hunting (again), and Blue was still patrolling around in case of a threat. White sat inside the igloo, bored out of her mind. There was nothing to do! She wasn't hungry or sleepy. She wasn't of any help in hunting. All the distress signals were up. So…

With a grunt, she crawled out of the igloo. Might as well make some snowmen!

The snow clumped up quite easily and there was a LOT of snow, so White was able to make the first snowman pretty quickly. So she made more and more.

Blue returned pretty soon and saw the army of snowmen standing in a grid. With a smile, she approached White, who was still making snowmen.

"See, White? This is why I like you best out of all the other girls," she said as she observed the first snowman.

White looked up and noticed that Blue was now beside her. "Huh?"

"Yellow would insist in trying to make a snowman version of Red. Crystal wouldn't make a snowman in the first place, and even if she was forced to, she'd probably make perfect spheres for heads and bodies and do some science-y math stuff with them. Sapphire would probably use the snowmen for sparring practice. Like a sandbag. Platinum wouldn't make a snowman either. You're the only girl who does _normal_ stuff."

"Um… thanks," White said. "… So am I the only normal girl? Because I don't think most girls would use snowmen for target practice. With a rifle."

Blue let out a sigh. "I know I'm not like the average girls. But who is, amongst the Dex Holders?"

"Me?"

Blue laughed. "No, no. You're not normal. I said you do normal things. I didn't say you were normal. Normal people don't own two companies at the age of 16. And when people make a snowman, they usually make one or two. Not… 20."

"Oh. I was kind of bored."

Blue glanced at the igloo. "In that case, let's reinforce our igloo. In case another polar bear decides to come visit and ask about his buddy that we killed and ate."

…

Few days later, Day 13…

…

Blue let out a long sigh as she sat down on her sleeping bag. She was starting to look more and more tired as days passed. The long day of patrolling around probably had a large impact on her as well. "Damn it, if I ever get out of this freaking fridge of a wasteland, the first thing I'm going to do is shove a boot up Platinum's butt." Diamond looked over at her in surprise, so she cast a slightly apologetic glance at him. "Sorry, Dia."

"Why… Why hurt the Lady?" Diamond asked.

"She sent me over to this frozen wasteland!" Blue yelled. "For my birthday!"

"But this wasn't her intention," Diamond argued. "She only wanted you to go on a relaxing vacation. Bad luck may have put us in this situation, but it's not her fault!"

"I know that," Blue said. "But still. Come on! Someone's getting blamed for this. And no aurora borealis? Seriously? Am I REALLY that f*cking unlucky?!"

"Well, don't blame for Lady for that."

"Relax, Dia. I'm just frustrated. That's all." Blue sighed and stretched her legs. There was a long silence inside the igloo before she noticed the unusual expression on Diamond. "… Dia? Is something wrong?"

Diamond snapped out of his thoughts and faced his senior. "Huh? Oh. No, why?"

"You look a little… worried," Blue said as she examined her junior's expression thanks to the light provided by the small makeshift lamp.

"I'm perfectly fine," Diamond said truthfully. "It's just that… I don't know. Something tells me that the Lady _really_ needs me right now. I'm just worried that she's in serious trouble."

Blue smiled. "Aww… that's so sweet. You really miss her, don't you?"

Diamond blushed a little. "Yeah…"

Blue moved to sit next to him and gave him a comforting pat on the back. "You know, Platinum's really lucky to have you. You're the only guy out of the Dex Holders who actually expresses concern for their girls. Red doesn't know anything. Gold's too embarrassed to say anything, Ruby's too scared, and Black's way too distracted."

White let out a sigh. "You'd think that with his dreams achieved, he wouldn't be so distracted, but no. I mean, come on! It's not like he's trapped in the Light Stone or something! He's with me all the time but he's still too distracted! … Lady Platinum's so lucky…"

Diamond looked over into the distance. "I just feel that I have to tell her every now and then that I really care for her. I mean, the Lady's been mostly alone for her whole life, without anyone to call a friend. If I don't show my care for her, she might feel all alone again."

"This is what I mean, Dia," Blue said with a warm smile. She glanced over at Ruby, who seemed to be staring intently at his shoe. "Ruby, why don't you care about Sapphire like this? You haven't said anything about her, and you don't show any real signs of missing her or worrying about her."

Ruby shrugged. "She lives next door to me. I see her _every day_ and usually for _all day_. And half the time, she's trying to cave my face in with that iron fist of hers. I'm not going to miss her anytime soon. … Don't tell her I said that. Or I'll end up in the obituaries."

"Sapphire really cares for you," Blue said. "You know that, right?"

"Well, yeah. But she just needs to be a _little_ less aggressive. Trying to kick my rear end into orbit for every time I avoid her questions isn't going to get me to care for her."

"Believe it or not, but you _need_ to be with Sapphire if you want her aggressiveness to be toned down. She has so much excess energy. So you need to be with her and hang around with her, you know? Give her something fun to do. Travel around, maybe? Or find all of her interests or get her to try new things. She may not be as… _nerdy_ as Platinum or Crys, but she's not stupid either. She could actually enjoy reading once she gets the hang of it. Slowly direct her away from physical things and she could tone down her aggressiveness."

"Maybe…"

"Besides, if what you told me is true," Blue continued. "Sapphire _used_ to be gentle. Give enough time and effort, she can be again. Though not as much as before, but still enough."

"Hmm… you're right," Ruby said after a moment of thought. "… Suggestions, then? What can she do without caving my face in?"

"You have to start slow," Blue said. "So… start with something that requires a lot of running. Like sports. Something that requires concentration that isn't likely to involve lots of physical contact. So no soccer. Maybe football? Or volleyball, since it's the same game but with different limbs? Tennis? I don't know. Think about it."

"Alright. I think the first thing I should do is get her to learn to read. Nothing overly excessive. Just… learn to read bit by bit."

Blue turned her attention to White. "And White, as for you and Black…"

White sighed. "I know, I know. He's still too distracted."

"Yeah. That's why a confrontation is required," Blue said. "Black achieved his dreams. But he's still distracted. Meaning, he still has another dream. You have to find out what that is. Ask him."

"I guess so…"

Blue gave Diamond another pat. "And Dia, don't worry too much. I'm sure Platinum's fine. Besides, she's with Red and Sapphire. Nothing bad would happen to her."

"But I'd like to find out for sure," Diamond said quietly. "When do you think we can get out of here?"

"Pretty soon," Blue said. "We did shoot the two emergency flares we had yesterday. With no more mountains in front of us, there's no way that those flares went off unnoticed. Someone would've seen it and rescue would be coming pretty soon."

White let out a sigh of relief. She wanted to go back home too. But as she thought about home, a thought occurred and she ended up smiling.

"You know, even though we're stranded out here," she started thoughtfully. "I think we've done what Lady Platinum wanted us to do by sending us on this trip."

"And that is?" Ruby asked.

"Lady Platinum wanted us to get along, right? Intergenerational friendship. Look at us now. We've been talking to one another for a while, helping with each other's problems and encouraging one another."

Blue let out a laugh. "You're right, White. I'm glad we've been given this chance. Though I would've appreciated a chance that did not involve getting stranded in a fridge. But still, it was nice to be able to talk. And you know what? Once we're out of here, we'll still have lots to talk about thanks to this." She extended a hand towards the center of the group. "Let's promise to meet up frequently so we can get along better. Let's not waste this."

White nodded and shook her hand first. Diamond followed, and Ruby did as well. Silver didn't really want to shake hands (or need to with Blue), but did at the very last. Blue began to chuckle as she was extremely satisfied with the friendships that were strengthened. White too, was happy with how things went, as she believed that she got much closer with several of her seniors at once.

And though none of the Dex Holders really knew when they would be rescued, they were at least happy to know that they weren't in any danger and that they were closer to each other than ever. And when rescue came 3 days later by Green and his team, Blue and the others were happy and calm enough to offer Green and his team a meal before escaping with them.

* * *

><p><strong>And rushed. What else is new? Since this wasn't a super early cheap rush, it's no cheese, but still, a rush is a rush. I had to stop here so that this chapter does not go on forever. Trust me. It CAN go on forever. Thanks to Blue and White being present, this chapter could have featured: Blue passing the torch to White, Blue's analysis of every other Dex Holder, and White's attempts at finding out Blue's own problems, among many others. These would appear in other stories and chapters bit by bit instead.<strong>

**And this is kind of why I'm discontinuing all of SR's series. A full story is fine, but a mini story with a limited chapter count tends to lose focus as it progresses, and the main purpose gets lost. SA's intermission crossovers, SR's Containment, Survival – Red, and Survival – Blue. All suffered the same with digression and whatnot. So no more.**

**Note: the "football" above is NOT the type of "football" known to the northwestern corner of the world. And it's not soccer either. This "football" is basically volleyball with your feet and head (like soccer), and you're not allowed to touch the ball with your hands or arms except when serving. It's literally called ****足 ****(foot) ****球 ****(ball).**

**And also note that Survival – Red and Survival – Blue took place at the same time. So Day 13 in this chapter is the same as Day 13 in Survival – Red. What happened there in Day 13? Sapphire broke Platinum's knee. And Diamond felt her cries for him. Oh, Blue. "Nothing bad would happen" indeed. Quite the contrast. Day 13 for Blue team had a massive bonding session where everyone got closer to one another. Day 13 for Red team had a massive breaking session, in more ways than one.**

**White: "It's not like he's trapped in the Light Stone or something!" … Too soon? Of course not! Ahahahahaha… I just LOVE that line.**

**Literal (rough) translation:  
><strong>**White: "That's… already… It should be good… but… b- You can't go! BLAAAAAAACK!"**

**Rearranged:  
><strong>**White: "It… should be good now… but… b- You can't go! BLAAAAAAACK!"**

**Add context:  
><strong>**White: "It's… all been paid off now… but… b- You can't go! BLAAAAAAACK!"**

**Black, Black. Looks like he didn't care all that much about White after all! Debt all paid, and now he's gone! Sure, you can say that it's not his fault, but excuses, excuses! Sure, he stopped White from getting too close so she was spared from being sealed as well, but did he just want to get away from her? Being trapped in the Light Stone with her was probably a nightmare for him! OH! Ahahahahaha! … Sorry. (Relax, I'm joking!)**

**Oh yeah, spoiler alert. Oops. Well, it WAS on my Tumblr blog for a while now. And DE update too. If you were unaware of that particular incident until now… not my problem.**

**Next up (non-DHC):  
>The Dex Holder gathering outside is interrupted by a huge thunderstorm, forcing everyone to seek shelter. The only structure that is remotely nearby is a large abandoned mansion, said to be refuge to many Ghost type Pokémon… and then some… Is it haunted? Only one way to find out. Wait, are the Ghost type Pokémon scared of something? And… … are those non-Pokémon ghosts? Uh-oh… (NOT horror, believe it or not)<strong>

* * *

><p>What Could Have Been:<p>

White finished making the snowman. She made a smiling face on the snowman and proceeded to create some extra details. Hair, hat, scarf, and coat, all made by adding snow and carving out excess stuff, like sculpting. Once she was satisfied, she took a few steps backwards to examine her artwork.

"Hmm… perfect!" she muttered happily. "I'm going to call you Billy the Snowman! Hang on a sec, Billy! I'm going to make you a friend!"

White proceeded to gather more snow in preparation for a second snowman. As she did so crouched down, she heard a loud rifle crack from relatively nearby. She dropped the forming snowball and looked up. To her horror, Billy the Snowman had a large hole in its head, with half of its head sheared off from the impact.

Blue approached the snowman to observe the accuracy of her shooting, with smoke coming from the barrel of her rifle.

"Billy! NOOOO!" White screamed as she dropped to her knees.

Blue frowned at her and pulled the bolt handle to eject the spent casing. "… Who the hell is Billy?"

"You killed him!" White screamed again.

Blue then noticed that she was talking about the snowman. "Oh. Oops." She crouched next to her junior. "White, it may comfort you to know that Billy suffered no pain in his death. Mainly because he has no nervous system. Or any system. And he's now in a better place. Or at least a part of him is. … The ground. The comfortable, soft ground, as opposed to standing up in the face of harsh winds. Though getting trampled every now and then wouldn't be so nice…"

"… You're not helping."

"I know."


	34. Haunted

**Just to be clear. With all series of SR cancelled, there will be no Survival – Green, or Composer, or any of the other series mentioned on my Tumblr. And as mentioned/answered there, the DHC of SR will continue as that is NOT a series.**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 34: Haunted<p>

It was a clear and beautiful day in Sinnoh. Mew flew around aimlessly, trying to find something fun to do. Damn it, it was so bored… It soon passed the rumored "haunted mansion" in the forest near the Turnback Cave. All it saw was a ton of Ghost types all running for their lives away from it.

Oh? There was a large group of people near the forest. Apparently they were having a… meeting? An outing? Something like that near the Spring Path. Probably heading towards Sendoff Spring for sightseeing, maybe. … Time to mess with them!

Mew decided to change the weather. A little Rain Dance, maybe mix in a little bit of Drizzle from Kyogre and bam! Severe thunderstorm! Now to follow them and see what they do.

…

It suddenly started to rain. A lot. A severe downpour with lightning bolts and thunder mixed in.

The 19 Dex Holders who were having a picnic quickly searched for shelter to avoid the downpour. As the "tour guide", Platinum quickly led the group towards the only structure remotely nearby. A large abandoned mansion in the forest near Turnback Cave. Though technically, it was closer to the Spring Path.

The group managed to reach the large mansion before getting too wet. The large entrance doors were open, so they entered without hesitation to avoid the heavy rainfall.

Blue wiped away the rainwater from her body as she took a look around. "What is this, an abandoned mansion?"

There was no lighting in the large mansion, so the whole place felt creepy…

"Who lived here?" Red asked as he eyed the decorations all over the place.

Platinum straightened her clothes before replying. "No one lived here, seniors. This mansion was built to be abandoned."

Ruby looked confused. "… Huh?"

"The designers intended to build a horror-park themed mansion in hopes of starting an amusement park here. But every worker sent to the interior of this mansion never returned. Multiple times, the project manager sent search teams, but they all disappeared as well. As such, the project was abandoned. To this day, over 50 people have gone missing in this mansion, and are assumed dead." Platinum blinked, suddenly noticing the frightened expressions on White and Y. "… I probably should not have said that…"

"S – So this place is… haunted?!" White muttered in terror.

"Rumor has it that the moans and cries of the lost men can be heard during thunderstorms," Platinum said. Just then, a massive lightning flashed outside followed by a loud thunder. White and Y began to look around in horror. "… I probably should not have said that either."

Red stared at the walls. "Why's the paint so… thick red?"

"The designers wanted the walls to be painted red, to appear like blood. But halfway through the painting, the walls appeared to have painted themselves, as more and more walls became fully painted even though no paint was used."

"Would you stop saying things like that?!" White said in a half-whisper.

Sapphire suddenly looked very serious as she focused on her hearing. "Wait… do you hear that?"

All the Dex Holders fell silent and focused on their hearing. Rhythmic thumps…

"P – Probably just the rainwater hitting the roof!" Y tried with a scared laugh.

"It sounds like footsteps," Platinum said calmly.

"… Oddly… rhythmical. And slow," Crystal added.

Blue grinned. "… Like a corpse walking on its own…"

Y began to rub her arms to calm the goose bumps. "Not you too!"

Gold decided to "help". He snuck up beside Y and whispered. "They're walking around, waiting for someone to get isolated so they can devour our brains!"

The Kalos Dex Holder simply froze up. White pressed her hands over her ears and shook her head.

"STOP!" she yelled.

Emerald snuck up behind the two girls and with his fake arms stretched around them, leapt towards them. "BOO!"

The two girls shrieked in terror and immediately embraced each other for support. "AHHHHHHH!"

Gold and Emerald laughed and gave each other a high five. White and Y took rapid breaths to try to prevent suffering heart attacks.

"Well, there's no reason for us to go deep inside this place, now do we?" Crystal said. "We can just say here near the entrance until the storm passes."

Just then, the entrance doors shut by themselves very loudly, forcing some of the… weak hearted Dex Holders to jump in surprise and terror. Platinum walked up to the doors and tried to open them. They didn't budge. Sapphire joined in on the effort, pounding and kicking on the door. Even then, it didn't budge.

"Huh…" she muttered as she scratched her head. "… What happened? It's suddenly… super locked!"

Green tossed the Pokéball for his Charizard. Surprisingly, the ball simply bounced on the floor and the Pokémon did not come out. He tried to open it manually, but the ball did not respond, as if its opening mechanism failed. He tried with some of the other Pokéballs, but the same thing happened.

"… We have a problem," he said as he turned to face the others.

Gold and Emerald glanced at each other and grinned. Emerald started first. He pressed his fake hands to his temples and screamed.

"We're trapped in here! We're all going to die!"

Gold went next. "We're all going to be added to the ghost count here!"

White and Y looked even more scared now. Even Sapphire was starting to look spooked. Green, Silver, and Platinum didn't seem remotely fazed. The others at least pretended to be unaffected. Crystal whacked Gold on the back of the head after shaking away her own fears.

"Stop scaring your juniors!"

"So… what do we do now?" Black asked.

"We should secure another exit," Platinum said. "All mansions have several entrances. This one may be locked, but there are bound to be open ones."

"I – I think we should all go together," White suggested. "That way, none of us can disappear…"

"That might take a while," Blue said. "We should divide into 3 groups. There are 19 of us. Two groups of 6 and another of 7 would still have enough members to prevent people from going missing, and yet still cover enough ground."

"So what, team based division?" Red asked. "Me, Gold, Sapphire, Platinum, Black, and Y in one group?"

"That… might be disastrous for you," Blue said. "In your team everyone except Platinum would end up charging forward and making conclusions. Even though Y may be scared right now, she'll follow the group. And if everyone except Platinum do the same things, then you know who's going to go missing."

"Then we should divide by region," Ruby suggested. "I think we can cooperate better that way."

"… What about me and X then?" Y asked. "… Just the two of us?"

"And do I have to stay with these two lovebirds?" Emerald asked as he glanced at Ruby and Sapphire. "I'd die from hearing their flirts."

As the other Dex Holders thought, Gold slowly planned his next scare. He slowly walked around the group, looking for the most opportune location to strike. He soon found it. Right behind Crystal!

He slowly crept behind her and took out a flashlight from his bag. He then turned it on right below his face, using the light angle to create a scary face. He then waited for a response. Yellow saw him first and promptly screamed. Crystal jumped in surprise and spun around. She saw Gold and immediately screamed as well. The goggled boy started to laugh, thus revealing his identity. Almost blinded by rage, Crystal promptly kicked him in the face.

Gold stumbled backwards and suddenly, the floor below his feet vanished. Gold flailed his arms, trying to find balance, but couldn't find it and ended up falling into the unknown abyss.

Crystal saw him suddenly vanish and gasped in horror. She quickly ran to where he was, but… the floor was just fine! There were no stairs or doors anywhere… … Where did he go?!

…

Gold opened his eyes. What the… what?! He fell through the floor… and now he was in some illuminated… bright room thing. With no doors. And nothing else. What?!

Suddenly, something appeared in front of him. He was surprised at first, but he recognized the Pokémon that just appeared. Mew.

"What the… Mew?" he muttered. He recalled hearing about this small Psychic legendary Pokémon from his seniors. Apparently it was a super powerful Pokémon that appeared harmless but was actually… destructive.

\ \_I brought you here,_\ \ a voice emanated in his mind. Mew was talking to him?

Gold raised an eyebrow. "Wait… you can talk?"

\ \_I can do a lot of things._\ \

Gold shrugged. No arguments there. "So… … why am I here?"

\ \_I'm bored. Very bored. I think you can provide me some entertainment. I saw you scaring your friends. I like your style._\ \

"Well thanks. I try to impress."

\ \_Right now, you are a ghost._\ \

Gold blinked. "Come again?"

\ \_You are technically dead. You will not be spotted by your friends. Yet, you will be able to manipulate objects to make them appear as if they're moving on their own._\ \

"Okay… I think I understand what you want from me," Gold said. "You want me to scare the crap out of a few of the other Dex Holders, right?"

\ \_Yes. Precisely. It should be very fun. For you and me. As a ghost, you can walk through walls. You can't talk to anyone, however, as they won't be able to hear you. You also can't make direct contact with anyone. Have fun._\ \

Gold grinned. "Oh, I will." He suddenly looked a little worried. "So… what, am I permanently dead?"

\ \_No. You are only technically dead. I can easily put you back into your body. But only once I had my fun._\ \

Gold nodded. "Alright then. Consider it done!" He rose to his feet and walked into the nearest wall, half expecting a bump. But he simply passed through it and he ended up in the hallways of the abandoned mansion.

…

Gold "walked" around the mansion, trying to find his fellow Dex Holders. Things weren't as scary now that he was one doing the scaring. In fact, since had Mew following next to him, all the Ghost type Pokémon immediately fled from him. Despite the fact that it was invisible, the Ghost types could feel its presence and they did not want to take a Shadow Ball from that thing while it was plotting things so nastily.

He soon came across his first victims: Black and White.

The girl kept her hands over her heart, looking around with a terrified expression. Black kept his teeth clenched, as if he was hiding his fear. Trying to look good in front of White, probably.

Gold grinned. Oh, this was going to be so much fun! He took a brief look around. Okay, he couldn't make direct contact with the Dex Holders, but he could move inanimate objects.

He grabbed a doll from one of the shelves. This… was a creepy-ass doll, for sure. No hair, wide open eyes, and a big freaking grin. Also it was completely pale in color. Gold shuddered. Even now it was scary. But Black and White were going to experience the worst of it. … He couldn't wait!

Gold set the doll on a table around the corner so that it was sitting upright. He then moved its hand so that it appeared to be waving. Just as he finished, Black came around the corner and saw the doll. He immediately jumped back, bumping into White, which caused her to jump back.

"Wh – What's wrong?!" White whispered in terror. She couldn't see the doll yet.

Black remained frozen, so White peeked around him. She gasped in terror and clamped her hands over her mouth so that she couldn't scream.

Gold laughed to his heart's content, since he couldn't be heard. He enjoyed his juniors' terrified expressions and continued his scheme. He slowly moved the doll's hand so that it was waving at the two Unova Dex Holders.

Black jumped back again and White started to whimper, as things were getting way too scary for her.

"Black… I – I'm scared…" she whispered in terror, almost to the brink of sobbing.

Black turned around gently embraced her. "Don't worry… I'm here." He slowly patted her on the back and the girl buried her face into his shoulder. "I won't let you get harmed. I promise."

Gold groaned and stopped manipulating the doll. "Oh, go get a room!" he yelled at the two Unova Dex Holders. He then realized that they couldn't hear him. "Damn it. Now I have to listen to all their mushy crap. … Time to scare them senseless!"

He took the doll and slowly moved it towards the two Dex Holders. Because Black was looking the other way and White had her face buried into his shoulder, Gold could move the doll without it being spotted. With a grin, he put the doll on top of White's head.

The girl gasped and froze. The doll reached down and waved right in front of her face. Gold moved so that he was at eye level with his junior and leaned in very close so that he could see her expression in full.

White had turned ghastly pale. She looked as if she was going to have a heart attack soon. Gold moved the doll so that it poked her in the cheek. That got her going.

White let out a blood curdling scream, which caused Black to jump back, as he was unaware of her situation. Seeing the doll now on her head, he screamed as well. White grabbed the doll and threw it forward, at Black by accident. She immediately started to run away, and Black ran the other way as well, away from the "cursed" doll. Gold laughed and followed White, as she was a more entertaining target. Because he could walk through walls now, it made catching up with her very easy. But he passed her though, so he could set up something to scare her even more.

Mew gave him the doll that it warped in from where it was dropped. Gold took it and placed it on the floor so that it was standing up. White turned the corner and spotted the doll. She couldn't even scream as she was way too scared. The doll slowly took steps towards her.

White frantically shook her head and tried to run the other way. But the doll kept cutting her off every corner… Gold saw her expression and stopped manipulating the doll. This… was getting a bit too much.

White gasped for air and she started to stagger and sway. Before Gold could do anything (not that he was able to do anything), she fainted and collapsed on the floor.

"… Uh oh…" Gold muttered as he knelt beside his junior. "Uh… she's not dead, is she?"

Mew shook its head.

"Whew."

…

White woke up a short while later and immediately found herself trapped in a white empty room with no visible doors. She quickly sat up and scanned around, trying to see if that monstrous doll was nearby. It wasn't. With a relieved sigh, she got up to her feet and moved around the walls so that she could find an exit, if there was a hidden one. There were no such exits. She tried to press the walls with her palms, in case there was a secret button somewhere. Nope. Just solid wall.

"Hello?!" she yelled. She felt her voice being reflected off the walls all over the place, indicating that this room was completely sealed off. "Anyone there?! Hello?!"

"I'm here," came a familiar voice from behind.

White spun around and saw Gold walking towards her.

"Gold!" the girl cried in happiness, relieved to have found her senior. "… Wait… how did you get in here? Where were you?"

Gold rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… about that. This is going to be a shock. I'm a ghost."

White raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I fell through the floor and… Mew happened," Gold said.

White frowned. "… Right…"

"I'll prove it." With that, Gold walked straight into the wall, going through it. He came back inside pretty shortly.

The Unova Dex Holder looked surprised, but still didn't understand what was really going on.

Gold flicked his fingers and he soon went invisible. A doll came out of nowhere (Mew warped it in) and White realized that it was the same doll that haunted her. The doll, now being held by Gold, waved its hand at her. Gold soon became visible again.

White immediately realized what had happened. And she was _pissed_.

"Why you!" she roared in anger as she charged at him. "This whole time… it was _YOU_?! You did this to me?! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

She tried to strangle her senior with all her strength. But sadly, since Gold was a ghost right now, her hands simply went through him.

"Materialize yourself so I can kill you!" White yelled, trembling in rage.

"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy!" Gold said. "I don't _want_ to be doing this. Mew just wants me to haunt others for its enjoyment. It won't give me my body back until it had its fill."

White still kept her murderous glare. Gold was sincerely thankful that he was already technically dead. Wait…

"Huh… how come you can see and hear me?"

\ \_I'm allowing her to do such,_\ \ came a voice in his mind.

"… Oh." He avoided eye contact with his infuriated junior. "Uh… Bossy Gal. Do you… want someone else scared senseless? I mean… I won't be scaring you anymore, and if I have to go scare others, you'll be pretty lonely here."

White lightened her expression. "… That's actually pretty thoughtful of you after what you did to me. Maybe I can use this opportunity to get closer to some of the others I've been having hard time befriending. Y and Lady Platinum, maybe?"

"Sure thing."

…

Gold soon found his next victim. Y, looking terrified but still on patrol. With X, of course. She didn't want to be alone in this terrifying mansion. Gold grinned. Easy…

But the two Kalos Dex Holders seemed to be aware of the "possessed doll", as they were eyeing every single doll still on various bookshelves. So Black had reached the others safely. Interesting.

Alright then, Gold would just have to scare Y without using a doll. No direct contact, but can move inanimate objects… Hmm… It's not like he could grab a chair and whack the girl either. He had to scare her. Not beat her.

X and Y carefully entered another room. Gold followed them and immediately got an idea. He turned the lights on, causing the two Kalos Dex Holders to jump.

"I – It could be a motion detector!" Y said with a terrified laugh.

X didn't look entirely convinced. "In this old mansion?"

But regardless, now that the room was brightly illuminated, the two Kalos Dex Holders ventured deeper.

Gold grinned and shut the lights off. Y shrieked as she was suddenly enveloped in darkness. But Gold turned the lights on again. And shut it off. And repeated the process again and again.

Y tried to make a mad dash towards the open door, but Gold quickly shut it. Even more terrified now, Y quickly made her way back towards X. But to her horror, he wasn't there. Mew had warped him out of that room and into a random hallway so that Y would be left all alone.

The girl started to whimper as the lights kept turning on and off. Even worse, a chair in the room was moving on its own. But only when the lights were off. She just saw it closer and closer each time the lights turned on…

She fainted shortly after upon seeing the "possessed doll" sitting on the chair when it was so close that it was touching her. Gold saw her collapse and stopped with the lights. It was hurting his eyes too.

Well, he wanted to scare Y without using that doll, but apparently Mew liked it too much. Fine, whatever. Only Platinum left for now. Then at least White would be okay and Mew might even let him go!

… But… the heiress wasn't the type to get scared. Sure, she could be frightened, but not with ghosts or crap like that. She was only ever scared of upsetting those above her. Seniors, parents, etc. Maybe regular friends too. She only ever looked terrified when Green yelled at her that one time.

So this might be difficult. Gold watched Y's body vanish as the girl was warped into the same "safe room" as White. Gold then left the room to go find the heiress.

…

Platinum examined the books on the bookshelf as Diamond and Pearl kept their guards up. The boys were more scared than the girl, but couldn't show it. The heiress was looking fascinated with the collection of books…

"… Lady? Aren't you… scared?" Diamond asked.

"Huh? Oh. No, not really," the heiress answered. "This mansion has a lot of books… I wonder if the designers of this place brought in these so they would not get bored during maintenance…"

The heiress detected motion from the side and looked over. Down the hall, something was coming closer. A doll. Walking on its own.

Diamond and Pearl saw it as well and looked very alarmed. Platinum… did not.

"… Miss Lady… we should get out of here," Pearl suggested.

"Yeah, Lady. Remember what Black said?"

"Be reasonable," Platinum said. "It is merely a doll. It cannot kidnap someone. I am more curious as to how the doll is moving. But I suspect a Ghost type Pokémon is controlling it, trying to scare us. If we do get scared, we will be encouraging it more and more."

The doll kept coming. Platinum approached it so that she may see exactly how "scary" the doll was. Black _may_ have been exaggerating, and she wanted to find out.

Gold slightly panicked as he kept moving the doll. Platinum was supposed to be scared! Not interested! Diamond and Pearl looked terrified, but Platinum…

Gold decided to kick it up a notch. He lifted the doll slowly and made it hover towards the girl. Platinum still didn't even blink. Gold slowly rotated the doll's head all the way around. Platinum simply tilted her head while Diamond and Pearl looked as if they were about to run like hell.

The doll approached Platinum and tapped her cheek with its hands. Again, nothing. The heiress poked the doll in the cheek in return.

Gold scratched at his head. How was he supposed to scare the girl? He could try screaming at her in person, but that wasn't fun. It was just hurtful for her! Hmm…

Plan B then. He threw the doll forward, just over Platinum's head. Diamond and Pearl screamed and tried to run. Unfortunately, they seemed to have forgotten the fact that they had turned a corner, and ended up running directly into a wall, thus knocking themselves out.

"Diamond! Pearl!" Platinum shrieked as she quickly ran towards them to check on their condition.

Gold quickly ran towards one of Mew's "toy" rooms. Apparently there were lots of stuff there that required walking through walls or using Teleport to access. The moment he entered the room, he ran into a skeleton, and he jumped in terror. It took him a few seconds to realize that the skeleton was actually just a full sized model, for a science class. It did not belong to one of those "missing" men who worked on this mansion.

Or so what Mew said.

"Whatever happened to the men who went missing here?" Gold asked.

\ \_I sent them to a completely different region to see how they would handle their situation,_\ \ Mew answered. \ \_They weren't funny so I sent them home after two months._\ \

"Ah. Alright then. I guess I'll use this skeleton now to scare Platinum. Or try to. Hey, at least I got Dia and Pearl."

Gold walked through the wall again and Mew warped in the skeleton from the hallway. Gold grabbed its wrists and placed its feet on top of his, so that he could get it to simulate walking. As long as he walked with his arms stretched forward, the skeleton would appear to be doing the same. If this didn't scare Platinum into unconsciousness, he didn't know what would.

Platinum still kept trying to wake her two friends. She held Diamond in her arms and tried to fan some air into his face, but nothing happened still. Just then, she detected motion once more and looked down the hall. She found a skeleton slowly moving towards her with its arms stretched forward. She simply blinked.

With a loud moaning sound (made by Mew), the skeleton started to run with its arms flailing in the air. The heiress slowly and carefully set Diamond down on the floor and walked up to meet it. The skeleton kept running, but stopped before running into the girl. It still kept its arms flailing. Platinum simply looked at the skeleton from skull to toe. The skeleton suddenly moved closer as if it was saying "boo". Just then, its skull fell off and rolled on the floor.

Platinum picked it up handed it back to the skeleton. The skeleton took its skull with its hands and placed it back onto the spinal cord. It then crossed its arms, as if it was thinking. Platinum giggled, as she found this situation to be quite… funny. A "possessed" skeleton, failing to scare her, was now thinking of new things.

The skeleton began tapping the floor with its foot. Well, it tried. Since it was hovering slightly above the floor, it couldn't make contact. But it was starting to look funny. Just then, Red, Yellow, Crystal, Ruby, and Sapphire arrived around the corner, having spotted Diamond and Pearl lying unconscious. The five Dex Holders spotted the skeleton right away. The skeleton jumped towards them, ignoring the unfazed Platinum.

Red jumped in surprise while the other four screamed in terror. Especially Yellow, who passed out shortly after. Sapphire realized that her junior was watching, and forced herself to calm down. She quickly pulled the skull off of the skeleton and drop kicked it FAR down the hall.

The skeleton felt around its spinal cord before it ran down the hall to retrieve its skull. While Crystal, Ruby, and Sapphire sighed in relief, Platinum giggled at the skeleton's somewhat comedic performance.

Gold picked up the skull and placed it back on the skeleton.

"Damn, that girl is impossible to scare!" he muttered. "What the hell! … But at least I got senior Yellow and scared the crap out of the bickering duo along with Super Serious Gal. … Before Wildchild Girl drop kicked the skull, anyways."

\ \_Yes. It was amusing to watch,_\ \ Mew said in his mind. \ \_I think you fulfilled your duties now. This has been quite entertaining. I'll revert you back to normal._\ \

"Yes! Thanks!"

The heavy rainfall outside stopped and the sun started to shine. All the lights inside the mansion turned on, illuminating everything, thus allowing the Dex Holders to navigate easily. All the doors opened as well, so that they could escape.

Y and White were warped out of the "safe room" and into the hallways around the other Dex Holders so they could be found again. Gold was reverted to normal right next to them. It was Mew's parting joke.

The moment he got his body back, the first thing he saw was White, looking very pissed off. He turned around and spotted Y, looking even more angry. At him.

"… Uh oh…"

"Get him!" Y yelled as she charged at her senior. White joined her junior, and Gold simply ran like hell.

"But it wasn't my fault!" Gold yelled as he ran for his life. Oh, when the two girls told everyone what happened, Crystal and Sapphire were going to be _so_ angry… … Maybe he could bribe White and Y to not tell anyone…

* * *

><p>"… <strong>plotting things so nastily" … I can't believe I actually said that. Ugh. Horrible. I guess it can count as a shot towards the "meta games" or whatever you want to call it. The most common Mew set? Psychic, Shadow Ball, Aura Sphere, Nasty Plot. Among these "shots" are Rayquaza dancing for a jolly good time (Jolly Dragon Dance), and my main profile image, Swords Dance Garchomp. If Garchomp could dance without a sword (say, Dragon Dance, or Quiver Dance for absolutely no reason)… I'm up all for that. OP-ness be damned. Garchomp with Teeter Dance! Useful, or just crap, like Shedinja with Final Gambit?<strong>

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**The Dex Holders throw a party! It's to celebrate everyone's safe return from being stranded in 3 different places simultaneously AND to welcome the four new juniors added to the group. The party's location is "randomly" selected to be Platinum's villa in the Resort Area. Can she keep the party enjoyable without having Gold and Emerald blow everything up?**

* * *

><p>Post Ending:<p>

"Really?" Emerald asked. "Mew set you up like that?"

"Yeah," Gold answered. "But it was sure fun. Even if Bossy Gal and the new girl hate me for a while. I told them it wasn't my fault, so maybe they'll get off my back shortly."

"Cool. Hey, next time something like this happens, recruit me!" Emerald said. "I want in on the fun too!"

"You got it."


	35. Halloween Special 2

**Halloween Special! The second! … I lied twice thanks to this special. I said that my next update would've been SC. And that the next SR update would be that party thing I said last chapter. Nope and nope. Damn. Whatever…**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 35: Halloween Special 2<p>

Veilstone City, Sinnoh, 1 am…

White slowly opened her eyes. … Where was she? What happened? … There was a female Dex Holder meeting… Platinum had rented the Veilstone City museum for the night…

'_I must've fallen asleep,_' White thought as she slowly sat up. She blinked. She couldn't see anything. It was pitch dark… '_What's that stench?_' she thought as she sniffed at the air a couple of times. It smelled like raw meat… But… why?

White rose to her feet and carefully moved forward. Where was the light switch? With her arms outstretched, she slowly inched her way forward, being careful not to trip over anything. Her hands soon came into something. Something… soft and fleshy. White quickly pulled her hands back, but felt something sticky on her palms.

'_Eww…_' White groaned in her mind. '_I must've touched raw meat! Yuck…_'

Reluctant to touch her own clothes now, White ventured ahead, and soon found the light switch. With a sigh of relief, she flicked it on. The lights took a few seconds to turn on, but soon, the entire room was illuminated. White took a moment to get used to the sudden light and took a look around. And she gasped in horror.

Yellow was hanging upside down from the ceiling, her clothes drenched in blood, and her blood dripping from her fingers. White looked down at her hands and saw blood too. She had touched her senior's body in the dark and had gotten her blood on her hands.

White quickly rushed towards Yellow's body. The blonde girl's eyes were open but blank, and her mouth was slightly open as well.

"Yellow!" White shrieked out in horror. She quickly tapped her senior on the cheeks and realized that her skin was icy cold. With trembling fingers, White checked her pulse. Nothing…

There was a terrifying and unnatural shriek coming from nearby. Not from someone in pain, however. This sounded like a wail. And it was getting closer.

White quickly scanned the room. There was a door on the far side of the room and it was shaking a little, as if someone was trying to open it. White looked for places to hide. There were lots of dead bodies in this room, she realized. Lots of… decaying corpses. She felt sick, but this wasn't the time to vomit. She quickly ran towards the lockers. She opened one and found enough room for her to enter. Lucky that she was so slim…

She entered the locker and closed it quickly. Shortly after, she heard the door open. White held her breath as she heard footsteps coming closer. She peeked through the tiny slits in the locker so that she could see what was happening. To her horror, a female corpse appeared in her vision, trudging forward. The corpse didn't seem to belong to any Dex Holder. The skin was rotting, the hair was untidy and quite long. Its clothes were ragged and discolored, revealing the bony remains of the body. The corpse stopped walking right in front of White's locker.

White trembled in terror as the corpse turned to look at her direction. The corpse was missing an eye, and its face was almost a skull now. Only the skin remained, so White could clearly see the bones. The corpse let out a terrifying wail before it trudged towards Yellow's body. White could now see that the corpse was carrying a knife. The corpse stopped in front of Yellow's body. It stabbed her in the chest before it moved on. Yellow's body offered no reaction, as the girl was dead already.

White clamped a hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't make a sound. She had to get out of this place… She waited a few minutes after the corpse left her sight before she came out of the locker. She avoided looking at her senior's dead body and ran straight towards the door in which the corpse came from. She didn't want to get any closer to that moving corpse…

But unfortunately, the door was locked. White desperately tried to open it, but to no avail. She was about to turn around when she saw something taped to the door. A news article…

"… Woman found dead in museum's basement," White read out in a whisper, skipping places that were smudged beyond legibility. "… Accidentally locked downstairs… died of thirst… found holding a knife… half eaten by rats…" She gulped as she felt a shiver run down her spine. "That body… is this woman. But… how…"

White spun around, half expecting the corpse to be behind her. It wasn't. She quickly but silently headed towards the other door. On the way, she glanced at Yellow's body. … She had to find the other Dex Holders…

White carefully opened the door. This was the one where that moving corpse had gone through, so she had to be quiet. The moment the door opened, she heard a terrified scream. This wasn't the corpse wailing. This was someone else… familiar voice…

White quickly headed towards the scream. Even though she was scared senseless, she had to save the other Dex Holders.

'_Faitsu…_' she muttered in her mind. That scream was definitely Faitsu's.

White stopped running when she saw a familiar shadow against the wall. The shadow was Faitsu's, given the appearance. The ex-Plasma girl was shaking her head while backed into a wall. Another shadow appeared and approached her. This one belonging to the possessed corpse. The corpse let out a ghostly wail and brought its knife swiftly across Faitsu's throat. The girl stopped screaming and instead, White could hear a gurgling sound. Faitsu soon collapsed onto her side and the possessed corpse walked away to find another target.

White quickly crawled towards Faitsu. The younger girl was still writhing on the floor, with her blood pouring from her throat and mouth. She looked so scared…

'_Oh, no…_' White muttered in her mind, tears welling in her eyes.

Faitsu looked up at her for a brief moment before her eyes lost focus and her hands stopped moving. White let out a faint sob and gently closed her dead junior's eyes for her. Her skin was still warm…

She heard another scream very close by. And it was getting closer again. But it was noisy, as if there was a struggle. White still had to hide. She quickly looked around and found another series of lockers. Once again, she hid inside one of them and peeked through the tiny slits.

The corpse came into view again, dragging someone behind it. Crystal… The Johto Dex Holder was struggling. She was trying to fight back. The corpse threw the girl towards the lockers. White's locker, to be precise.

White clamped a hand over her mouth again as Crystal's face collided with the tiny slits. The Johto Dex Holder opened her eyes and almost jumped in surprise. White realized that Crystal could see her. She had made eye contact.

Crystal gave her a slight nod. She pressed her back against the slit to conceal White from the corpse and glared ahead. White couldn't see what was happening, but was about to break down in tears. Crystal was going to get killed, and there was nothing she could do. Why was this happening?

There was a loud thud. Crystal still had her back pressed on the slits so White still couldn't see. But if she had to guess, she'd say that the corpse was pushing Crystal against the locker. And…

Crystal let out a pained scream that was immediately followed by a loud screech as metal scraped metal. Before White realized what was happening, a bloodied knife had stabbed through the locker and an inch of the tip stabbed into her stomach. White clamped her mouth shut to prevent herself from screaming. Her other hand slowly reached down and felt the knife sticking into her. It hurt so much… but she couldn't make a sound…

The knife was roughly yanked out of her. Light suddenly filtered through the slits as Crystal collapsed onto the ground. At the same time, White slid down inside the locker as well, as her legs were wobbling too much.

"Agh…" she gasped out.

The corpse seemed to have heard it, as the locker was now shaking violently. White began to whimper. No, no, no…

Another familiar voice echoed outside. "Crystal!"

The locker stopped shaking. With another ghostly wail, the corpse headed towards the voice.

White gasped and grunted. That voice… was Sapphire's. She had to help her… With a moan, she pushed the locker open with her feet. She put a hand over her wound and crawled outside. She could see the corpse walking around the corner, chasing Sapphire. And on the ground in front of her… Crystal lay dead in a puddle of her blood. White flipped her over so that she lay on her back and gently closed her eyes for her.

"Crystal…" White sobbed out. "I'll miss you so much…"

White did her best to crawl after the corpse. She had to help Sapphire in any way she could. She could not see another dead Dex Holder… When she had reached the corner and looked around, she could see the corpse still walking towards Sapphire, who was waiting for it.

When the corpse came closer, Sapphire jumped backwards. "Now!"

Out of nowhere, Y leapt out and struck the corpse with a metal pipe. Sapphire joined in and hit the corpse with whatever she could get a hold of. But unfortunately, the two girls' effort was futile. The corpse simply let out another ghostly wail and thrust the knife into Sapphire's chest. It then struck Y with its bony arms, sending her stumbling backwards. Y regained balance quickly, but the corpse struck her once more, forcing her to fall.

"No…" White mumbled in horror. She could see Y struggling in pain. She could see Sapphire crawling on the ground with a knife sticking out of her chest. There was nothing she could do!

The corpse gripped Y by her throat and dragged her upwards so that her feet no longer touched the floor. The corpse let out another ghostly wail as it strangled Y. The Kalos Dex Holder desperately tried to loosen its grip but to no avail.

Something hit the corpse on the back of its skull. Sapphire was leaning against the wall on the far side, holding pieces of debris. She threw a piece of the floor tile at the corpse, gaining its attention. It released Y from its grip after crushing her throat and trudged towards the Hoenn Dex Holder.

White quickly crawled towards Y. The girl had her eyes closed, and was completely motionless. White checked her pulse. She felt her tears falling down her cheeks as Y's pulse soon stopped.

She had to escape. That was all that was left. Sapphire was going to die and nothing could be done to save her. Fighting the corpse wasn't an option. Sapphire and Y just tried, and Y was killed as a result, with Sapphire about to join her.

White clenched her teeth. She had to survive this. For all the other Dex Holders who were killed today. She with a grunt, she managed to rise to her feet. She cast one last glance at her doomed senior and began to hobble away.

Where's the exit? White looked around here and there, but there were so many doors, and she didn't have time to check each one.

"Take the stairs!" Sapphire yelled out as best as she could. "Next to the storage r-AHHH!"

White hobbled towards the storage room. It was labeled as such, so finding that wasn't an issue. The door that led to the staircase wasn't labeled in any way, but thanks to Sapphire's last words, White reached it within seconds.

She quickly opened the door and shut it behind her. The stairwell didn't have any lights active, but that was irrelevant. White climbed up as fast as she could. The stairs seemed to last forever, but she managed to reach the end.

White opened the end door and stumbled out, almost running into Platinum in the process. The heiress jumped in surprise, but soon calmed down after recognizing her junior.

"Lady Platinum!" White gasped out. "You're okay!"

"White…" Platinum muttered, relieved to see her. She gave her a brief hug. "Come. We must escape."

"Yeah… where's the exit?"

"I do not know. Where are the others?"

"… Dead," White sobbed out. "Yellow, Crystal, Sapphire, Faitsu, Y… all dead…"

Platinum simply froze in shock and horror for a while. Tears welled in her eyes as well as she shook her head. "… This… can't be…"

White sobbed again. "We have to get out of here now…"

The heiress wiped away her tears and nodded. "Yes… come. Senior Blue is currently working to get the exit unlocked."

White followed Platinum as she led her away from the stairs. "Unlocked?"

"Yes. This whole building is in lockdown. The exits are sealed. Senior Blue is hacking the system to unlock it."

The dark interior of the museum looked quite creepy, but the two girls paid no heed. There were bigger issues. The entrance/exit of the museum was on the opposite side of the building from the main office, so after unlocking the door, the surviving Dex Holders still had to sneak their way out across the large building.

"Senior Blue!" Platinum whispered out a few minutes later.

The door to the office opened and Blue let the two girls in. White grunted slightly from the pain in her stomach, but didn't dwell on it. Blue didn't have time to check on her wound as she returned to working on the computer.

"How much longer?" White asked.

"Almost there," Blue replied. Just then, there was a loud smashing noise from afar. "Shit. That thing knows we're here."

Platinum checked the security camera feeds. "It is coming… We must hurry!"

Blue typed rapidly. "Almost… there! Got it!" Platinum checked the camera feeds and saw the entrance unlocking. The steel bars lifted, thus allowing access to the doors.

"Yes! We can get out!"

Blue kept typing, however. "… It's not that simple," she said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Platinum asked.

"Check the feeds. It's out there. Waiting for us."

White and Platinum looked at the camera feeds and spotted the corpse standing by the only exit.

"What do we do now?" White asked.

Blue let out a sigh again. "… I'll distract it. You two escape."

"But senior…"

"No arguing, Platinum," Blue snapped at her. "In a minute, I'm going to use the museum's system to get that thing's attention. You two hide somewhere and when that thing moves, make a run for it. You two have to survive this."

"Blue…"

"Go!" Blue yelled as she shoved her two juniors out of the office.

White and Platinum bowed to their senior and began to run. Blue watched them disappear before she sighed and carried out her plans. She first purposely tripped the system's alarm. The museum's security system would send an automatic alert to the police, thus allowing a safe exit for Platinum and White. At the same time, that possessed corpse would know of her presences in the office and move to kill her, thus freeing the exit for White and Platinum.

Blue checked the camera feeds. The corpse didn't move yet. Instead, it appeared to be pouring bucket after bucket of water down its throat. But all the water spilled out from its body thanks to the decay. But it kept trying to drink. Blue slightly frowned, but shook her head. No matter. If it was distracting itself, it would provide ample opportunities for escape.

Blue made one last preparation and stood up. The system's alarm would continue indefinitely so that she had time for her own escape as well. But just as she turned to the door, the saw the corpse _right there_, standing in the doorway with a knife in hand.

"How…" she muttered in shock. Did it warp through space or something? The possessed corpse let out a loud wail. Blue clenched her teeth. So be it then. She quickly accessed the museum's announcement system. "Platinum! White! Set fire to the exit on your way out! It's your only chance!"

From afar, the two Dex Holders heard Blue's voice coming from the speakers. And a ghostly wail. The two Dex Holders gasped in horror, but continued to move towards the exit. Blue's voice kept telling them to run and set fire to the exit, until she was cut off by her own pained scream for a short while before the speakers shut off.

Platinum and White kept running. They were the only ones left. They had to escape alive. On the way to the exit, they stopped by the kitchen. Blue wanted them to set fire to the place, so they would.

While White grabbed the fire lighter from the drawers and a roll of newspaper from a table, Platinum grabbed various bottles of flammable material. Alcohol, cooking oil, among others.

The two girls resumed running towards the exit. They could hear the ghostly wail coming closer and closer…

There was another smashing noise from behind. White glanced backwards and saw the corpse breaking through a door right behind them.

"It's coming!" she yelled out in terror. "It's too fast!"

Platinum eyed the exit. It wasn't that far away. 30 meters, maybe? But the corpse was gaining on them somehow. They weren't going to make it like this…

The heiress suddenly threw the bottles she was carrying at the floor behind her, but spaced them to cover more area. White saw the action and ignited the newspaper she was carrying with the fire lighter. Platinum grabbed the flaming newspaper from her and threw it on the ground just as the corpse thrust the knife at her. The heiress narrowly avoided being stabbed and succeeded in igniting the flammable liquid on the floor.

White quickly yanked her senior backwards as the immediate area caught on fire. The two girls backed away from the intense flames as the corpse wailed once again. Its remaining flesh was being burnt off and the body itself broke apart into pieces.

"Yes!" Platinum shrieked out in joy. "We did it! We-"

Just then, the knife of the corpse was shot through the flames and stabbed into the girl's chest. The heiress let out a gasp of pain before she collapsed on the ground.

"Lady Platinum!" White shrieked in horror. "No!" She quickly knelt beside her senior and shook her. The heiress was still alive, given by the attempts at a shallow breath.

Something crawled out of the fire. White looked at it and realized that the corpse's arms were crawling towards her on their own. She gasped in terror but still took out the knife stuck in Platinum's chest and tried to defend herself. The arms avoided her knife and tried to strangle her. White frantically stabbed at the skeletal arms, trying to break apart the bones. Before she ran out of air in her lungs, she managed to break apart one arm and worked on the other. Since there was only one arm remaining, this one was easy to remove.

The bones of the arms started to roll towards the fire, however. White coughed for air and spotted a figure rising from the flames. That corpse… it was coming back together.

"No… no…" White muttered. She scrambled up to her feet and lifted Platinum up as well. She supported her senior from the side and tried to open the door to the exit. It didn't budge. She tried again. And again. And yet the door still remained closed.

The corpse started to walk towards her again. White let out a scream as she pushed against the door, even more desperately now. '_Open! Open, damn it!_'

As she heard the ghostly wail behind her, she managed to push the door open and almost stumbled out. She was still supporting Platinum's body from the side, so it was harder to maintain balance. But… she was out! Finally!

White blinked a few times to see clearly. … So many flashing lights… police?

"H – Help…" she gasped out, stumbling towards them.

She heard something. A command. But she couldn't understand them. She couldn't hear properly.

"Put the weapon and the body down and get down on the ground!"

White still couldn't hear them. "P – Please… help us…"

She heard something this time. A loud crack. And instantly, she felt her strength draining. She felt… pain. From her chest. Platinum's body slid off of her and crumpled onto the ground. White staggered backwards. The knife she held fell as well. Her hands reached up to her chest and saw blood. She managed to look straight ahead and saw a bright flash of orange for a split second. She felt blinding pain once more from her shoulder.

White couldn't understand what happened. Why it happened. The police had shot her. She collapsed onto the ground next to her senior's body. Platinum still had her eyes open slightly, but they were lifeless. White gasped for air but none came.

'_I'm sorry, Lady Platinum…_'

Her vision started to fade. But she could still see a blur. A large blur standing on top of her. Long hair… that corpse was now standing on top of her.

It nudged her on the side with its foot. And even as her vision faded completely to black, the corpse continued to nudge her.

White opened her eyes again. Things were still blurry, but she could see something very close, shaking her. That corpse again? What did it want? Why did…

"White, wake up," came a familiar voice.

White blinked. She felt no pain. Everything felt… normal. But how? Her vision quickly returned to normal and she could see Platinum crouching next to her with a smile on her lips.

"Lady Platinum?"

The heiress gave her a warm smile. "Yes. Now get up, please. Senior Blue wants everyone gathered for an activity."

"… Blue?" White muttered. Things slowly fell into place little by little. "… Did I fall asleep?"

Platinum nodded. "Yes. You did. I suppose today has been quite eventful. I am quite tired myself."

White sat up, suddenly feeling quite rejuvenated. It was all a dream. A nightmare… nothing more. With a relieved sigh, she got up to her feet and happily followed her senior.

But as she walked, she felt something strange in her pocket. She reached inside and felt a piece of paper folded inside. She took it out and immediately felt a shiver down her spine. No way…

It was the news article she saw in that nightmare. Woman found dead in the basement… accidentally locked in… died of thirst… found holding a knife… half eaten by rats…

And something had written over the article in thick red ink. … Blood? And the written message itself was enough to almost give White a heart attack.

"_It's not a dream."_

White trembled in terror. No way… just no way…

Of course, she had absolutely no way of knowing that her nightmare _and_ this news article were all fabricated by Gold and Emerald, using a handful of Ghost type Pokémon to purposely give her a nightmare using a fabricated story.

When or if she found out, the two troublemakers would _die_. But until then… this one news article was going to give her nightmares forever…

* * *

><p><strong>Halloween special tied in with a mass-death type story… that turned out to be a dream. Hey, no permanent damage done.<strong>

**What, don't like it? It took me **_**four hours in total**_** to write this thing, so enjoy it!**

**Next up (non-DHC):  
><strong>**Christmas Special, the second! … Most likely.**

**Face it. I'm more focused on DE and Destiny, so SR probably won't get updated until December.**


	36. Christmas Special 2

**Christmas Special! The Second! A day late though. Close enough!**

**Category: SR.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 36: Christmas Special 2<p>

Dex Holder meeting, Pallet Town Kanto, December 20…

"Alright, listen up," Blue said as she stood in front of all the other Dex Holders. "Christmas time is coming, and to show our new juniors a wonderful time, we should hold a Christmas party!"

"Woo! Party time!" Gold yelled.

"Yes, yes. Now, for the party location… After a very random pick, the party location is chosen to be Platinum's very own villa in the Resort Area of Sinnoh. Is that okay, Platinum?"

The heiress blinked and glanced at the other Dex Holders. "… Certainly. I would be honored to host this year's Christmas party."

"Great! This party is going to be amazing! Since the Sinnoh guys will be doing the basic preparations, the rest of us will all meet at Snowpoint City by 10 am on the 25th, so that we'll be able to take the ferry to Resort Area. I'll see you all there!"

…

December 25, Resort Area, Sinnoh, 1 pm…

…

Platinum finished cleaning the interior of her villa. Or rather, she finished touching up on the furniture. She had her maids do the cleaning, as she had brought a small squadron of maids from the Berlitz Mansion in preparation for this day. But to keep the party exclusive to the Dex Holders, the heiress had sent the maids home after thanking them for the good work.

"Everything all set?" Diamond asked as he walked over.

"Yes. Everything is tidy and in place," Platinum said with a smile. "How is the feast coming?"

"All the ingredients are set and ready," Diamond said. "Don't you worry. I'll make sure that this is the best feast ever."

"I know," Platinum said. She gave Diamond a quick kiss on the cheek. "I trust you."

"Whoa, are we interrupting something?" came a voice from behind.

Platinum swiveled around and spotted Gold and the other Dex Holders in the doorway. "Ah, senior! Welcome! Please come in."

The other Dex Holders soon flooded inside. Platinum welcomed each one and then shut the door so this private party could begin.

Red put his bag on top of the table in the middle of the kitchen and opened it. He took out four liquor bottles from the inside and raised them in the air.

"Let's get started!"

…

Platinum patrolled around her villa, making sure everything was going smoothly. The Dex Holders were divided into a few group, doing a variety of things. There was a gaming corner, created thanks to Gold bringing his video game consoles and hooking it up to the television in the living room. There was a… bar in the kitchen, thanks to Red bringing a box full of liquor. Currently only Red and Blue were drinking, as the other Dex Holders were either too young, or didn't drink. There was a hot tub in the backyard next to the swimming pool, populated by a handful of Dex Holders. And finally, a dance floor on the second floor. So patrolling all four sections and making sure nothing going wrong was quite the task.

Of course, a few Dex Holders weren't doing any of those. Diamond working in the kitchen, Green standing by the door, and Emerald eating appetizers on the main table. But at least things were maintainable. For now…

Gold finished a gaming session and let some of the other Dex Holders play while he went to go eat some appetizers.

"Hey Odd Boy, aren't you going to have some fun?" he asked as he stood beside Emerald.

"Nah, I'm fine here," the Hoenn Dex Holder replied. "This is some good stuff."

Platinum slowly walked over towards them. "Are you enjoying the party, seniors?"

"That we are," Emerald said as he stuffed another piece of bread in his mouth.

"Don't you worry about us," Gold said as well.

Platinum nodded and continued to patrol. Gold and Emerald watched her leave.

"Hey Odd Boy, want to make this party _really_ memorable?"

"I know exactly what you're talking about," Emerald said with a devious grin. "… Let's plan some pranks."

…

Platinum spotted Green standing in front of the door, looking through the peephole. When she got closer, she realized that there were visitors who wanted into the party and the Gym Leader was telling them to beat it.

Someone knocked on the door and Green looked through the peephole again.

"Hey, we heard there's a big party in there. Can we come in?" asked the visitor.

Green eyed them before replying. "And who the hell are you?"

"I'm Bob."

"Get lost." Once the visitors left, Green looked over at Platinum. "What do you want?"

"Senior, should you not be enjoying the party?"

Green smiled but shook his head. "No. This is actually entertaining." Someone knocked again. "Observe."

"Hey, is this the Dex Holder party? We want in!"

"Scram." Green then watched the visitors go away with sullen expressions. "See? Fun," he said to Platinum.

"… In that case, do as you wish, senior," Platinum said before walking away.

"I told you already, _no_," Green said to yet another visitor.

Platinum glanced over at him before resuming her patrol. She supposed that this party should only be for the Dex Holders, so… Green was doing a good job.

…

Platinum went to check the hot tub next. Black, White, X, and Y were in the tub, talking about a variety of stuff. Y saw Platinum approaching first and waved at her.

"Hi, Miss Platinum."

"Are you having fun?" the heiress asked as she approached the tub. The hot tub was bigger than the average tub, so the four Dex Holders inside were spaced out a little. Or they had space to do so, but they were sitting pretty close.

"Yes, this feels so good," White said with a bright smile. "Want to join us? I think I'd want someone on my side of this debate."

"Debate?"

"We've been talking about Pokémon battles," Black said. "And the variety of types. Triple Battle, Rotational…"

"Sky Battles," Y added. "They're very fun."

"And dangerous," X said.

"And none of you see the appeal of non violent stuff?" White asked in disbelief. "Pokémon Contests, Pokémon Musical… none of those?"

"Pokémon Amie thing was fun," Y said. "But I see it more as a… um… occasional activity, I guess, rather than something to devote on."

White sighed and looked over at Platinum. "Lady Platinum… can you help me? You've done Pokémon Contests before, right? Change into your swimsuit and join us and help me!"

Platinum smiled. "I am sorry, White, but I cannot join you. I have to ensure that this party is enjoying to everyone."

"Oh," White groaned. She sighed and glanced at X, Y, and Black. "… You battle maniacs… I wish Ruby was here with me."

"And Sapphire too," Black said. "She'd agree with us."

"Wait," Y said. "Miss Platinum… you like Gym Battles more, don't you?"

White looked over at Platinum in disbelief while the heiress thought about it. "Hmm… I must say that I do prefer the excitement of a Gym Battle," she said after a while.

"Oh… this group is just packed with battle maniacs," White grumbled.

"However, I do feel that I do not have enough experience in participating in Contests or Musicals," Platinum said. "Perhaps once I do experience them more, I will like them."

"Until then, you're one of us," Y said with a smile. She leaned backwards and looked over at X. "Hey, come on! Enjoy a little!"

"I am enjoying," X said in monotone.

Y rolled her eyes and sighed. "Jerk…"

"You two are so like Ruby and Sapphire," White commented. "It's unbelievable!"

Platinum listened to her four juniors talk for a while before she left them alone. She headed back into her villa and headed upstairs to check on the dance floor.

On the way, she spotted Gold and Emerald staring at something on the wall. She naturally stopped to see what they were doing.

"This glass seems really nice," Gold commented as he put a hand on the exhibition glass near the stairs. The point was to observe the fine craftsmanship of the vase _inside_ the glass, but…

"Yeah, put some… _final touches_ on the support bars and this thing will be a nasty surprise to anyone who springs the trap," Emerald said with a grin.

"Well, we don't want to kill anyone we know."

"I know. We'll finish it once everyone we know leaves."

Platinum approached the two Dex Holders. "Seniors, I must know. What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing," Gold lied, looking away. "You won't understand."

"Please explain," Platinum said.

"Well… You can look at this and see a decorative glass. I look at it and see a perfect trap for home defense," Gold answered eventually.

"A trap?" the heiress muttered.

"Yeah," Emerald said. "Tamper with this support bar here, and attach it to this string. Some unwanted intruder walks in, and BAM!"

"He'll get a face-full of exploding glass!" Gold said. "Weaponized decorations. The ultimate home defense."

Platinum simply blinked. "… Um… … Right… … Please do not scratch the surface."

She shook her head and soon left the two and continued upstairs. On the dance floor, Pearl was teaching Rakutsu and Faitsu how to dance while Yellow watched. Rakutsu looked really eager, and Faitsu looked like she wanted to go home.

"Hi, Miss Lady," Pearl said with a wave once he saw the heiress.

"I assume everything is going okay?" Platinum asked after waving back.

"No problems here."

Platinum observed Faitsu's expression. "She does not look like she is having fun. Is something wrong?"

"Actually," the ex-Plasma girl started, but Rakutsu cut her off.

"You know how she is," he said with a charming smile. "She's always nervous about these kinds of things."

"We'll be okay, Miss Lady," Pearl said again.

Platinum chose to believe her friend. "If you say so."

She chose to watch the dance lessons for a while and sat down next to Yellow. But before Pearl could continue with the lessons, Diamond's voice came from below, declaring that the feast was ready.

All 19 Dex Holders gathered at the dinner table, where Crystal and Diamond were setting up everything. One by one, the Dex Holders sat by the table and Platinum joined Crystal and Diamond in distributing drinks and utensils.

Most of the Dex Holders got sodas and other carbonated drinks. Red and Blue stuck with their liquor.

"Are you having fun, seniors?" Platinum asked as she set the plates down in front of Red and Blue.

"Sure am," Red said as he picked up his glass of liquor. From beside, Blue finished her glass. "Hey Platinum, pour her another one."

Platinum took a liquor bottle with both hands and carefully poured her senior a full glass. "Here you go, senior."

"Thanks," Blue said as she took the glass. She drank half of it and set the cup down. "You've been running around this place the whole time. You should enjoy the party too. Come on, enjoy yourself."

"As the host, it is my responsibility to ensure that everything is good," Platinum said.

"Suit yourself," Blue said with a shrug. She glanced around the table before focusing on Platinum again. "You probably have your hands full with this _powder keg_, so I'll stay out of your way."

Platinum looked where Blue had looked and saw Gold, Sapphire, and Emerald all glaring at one another while holding their utensils. It appeared that they were trying to eat more than the others. … Given their expressions, the _moment_ Diamond brought in the huge plate full of food, the three Dex Holders would literally eat the whole thing within seconds. But the other Dex Holders all looked hungry too. If Gold, Sapphire, and Emerald hogged all the food, some of the others might get… angry. Hmm…

"Here's a suggestion," Blue said. "Don't give them any food quite yet. Because the others look mighty hungry. I'm quite hungry too. And I already had quite a lot to drink. I'm no longer responsible for my actions."

"I will heed your advice, senior," Platinum said with a nod.

"Good. Then I really will get out of your hair. I'll just sit here, eating stuff. Then drinking again. Then more eating probably, then right back to more drinking. Isn't that right, Red?"

Red signaled the box of liquor. "We got plenty, and no one else is drinking. So that whole thing is ours."

"Hear that? Don't you worry about us."

Crystal and Diamond soon came back carrying several plates filled with food. Platinum took some off their hands and began to distribute them. As per Blue's advice, she kept the plates far away from Gold, Sapphire, and Emerald.

"Hey! Give us food!" Gold yelled. "We're going to die of hunger!"

"Yeah! Hurry up! And that's an order!" Emerald yelled too.

Platinum glanced at Crystal for help. The Johto Dex Holder understood and approached the three rivaling Dex Holders while carrying a huge plate.

"Alright you three," she started. "Here's how it's going to work. I'm going to divide this plate into three parts and you three will share." She placed a small plate in front of Sapphire and displaced a third of the large plate's contents onto it. "This is for you, Sapphire. You won't get any more unless you're being nice and gentle."

"Yes, ma'am," Sapphire said with a sigh.

"Good." Crystal then displaced a quarter of the plate's remaining contents onto another small plate and set it in front of Gold. "This is for you, Gold, because you're Gold."

"Hey!" Gold yelled. "That's totally unfair! Wildchild Girl here gets twice as much food as me? And Odd Boy gets three times as much? That is just… wrong! I'm their senior! I should get more!"

Crystal ignored him and gave Emerald a warm smile as she displaced all of the large plate's remaining contents onto his plate. "Here you go, Emerald. Eat up."

"Thanks!"

"You're playing favoritism, aren't you?" Gold grumbled out.

"Of course I am. Now Gold, if you behave, I'll let you have some more. Set an example for our juniors."

"Yes, ma'am…"

"And maybe you can contribute something to this group other than chaos and mayhem."

"Hey," Gold started to argue. "I'm chaos, and _he's_ mayhem," he said, signaling Emerald. "We're a double act. I don't cause _trouble_ on my own, you know."

"Hey, don't try to drag me down with you," Emerald said as he began to wolf down his food. "You're on your own."

Crystal watched the troublesome duo eat for a few seconds before she gave Platinum a pat on the shoulder. "There you go. If any of them give you trouble, just say the word."

"Yes, senior."

Hours began to fly. Platinum patrolled all around her villa once again, participating and helping here and there. She helped Diamond prepare dinner for a little while. She listened to Green deny more unwanted visitors, and even told one to scram herself. It was fun. … Too fun.

She joined X and Y in playing a video game and helped Y beat X, only to realize that Y didn't need any help at all, thus inadvertently expressing that she liked Y more than X. Oops. She soon left the two Kalos Dex Holders to resume patrolling once more. She found Gold and Emerald plotting something in the refrigerator, and just walked away. She didn't know what they were up to, but she didn't exactly want to know either. Something about rigging the refrigerator? … Sure. What's the worst that could happen?

Black and White were slowly dancing in the dance floor all by themselves in a slow romantic music, so Platinum gave them privacy. She made her way over to the backyard to see what was happening, and found Ruby and Sapphire arguing with each other about something. Again, the heiress left them alone and wandered back into her villa.

Things steadily calmed down after dinner, much to Platinum's relief. Gold and Emerald had stopped plotting things and were just enjoying dessert. Ruby and Sapphire had also stopped arguing and instead, spent time with Black and White. Ruby discussed Pokémon Musical ideas with White, while Sapphire asked Black about Triple Battles.

Blue still sat at the dinner table, drinking from yet another liquor bottle as she drew something on her sketchbook. Red was still drinking as well, looking at what Blue was drawing, finding it quite surprising that the girl was still sober enough to sketch things. She was drawing Green, apparently, who was reading the newspaper in the corner of the villa.

Now that things had _finally_ calmed down, the Platinum was able to spend time with Diamond. With a sigh of relief, she sat down next to him and grabbed his hand.

"I think this party's been successful," Diamond said as he massaged the heiress's shoulder.

The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yes. I am very relieved."

"No one got hurt, nothing blew up, and nothing got set on fire," Diamond said. "It sure went better than the last party, where two of those happened."

"Yes."

"What's next, Lady?"

"It is getting close to midnight," Platinum said. "So we spend the night, have breakfast and then we plan the New Year's party."

"Where do you think that party will be?"

"… Somewhere other than here," Platinum said honestly. "… Or Sinnoh entirely. Though nothing went wrong today, I do not want this sort of stress next week."

…

Next day, 10 am…

…

Platinum felt someone shaking her on the shoulder. She slowly woke up from her deep sleep and opened her eyes. She saw White and Y sitting next to her, waiting for her to wake up. For the night, the three girls shared a room, as there were too many Dex Holders for each to get a separate one.

"Good morning, Lady Platinum," White said with a quick bow. "You must've been really tired."

Platinum glanced over at the clock and saw the time. "Oh. I overslept."

"So did most everyone," Y said. "I think we're the first ones awake. Well, except for Pearl."

The heiress slowly got up to her feet. "We should wake up everyone now."

"I'm starving. When's breakfast?" White asked.

"Diamond will prepare something," Platinum said. "… Once he wakes up."

The other two girls groaned.

"… That'll take forever. And we're so hungry right now…"

Platinum tidied up the room and headed downstairs where the male Dex Holders were sleeping. To her surprise, she saw Emerald watching the television. She thought everyone else was asleep, but apparently Emerald was awake. … What did he do? Was he planning something?

"Morning, Platinum," he said with a yawn.

"Good morning, senior," Platinum said with a polite bow.

"So Platinum," Emerald started. "In the off-chance that you hear an alarm you didn't know about and you hear a timer start counting down…"

"Oh, no…" the heiress muttered.

"Just enter the code 1027 into this remote, _preferably_ before the timer goes off," Emerald said as he handed her a small device. "The code should be easy to remember, since it's your birthday and all. But you _have_ to enter it fast. If you don't, well… Blame Gold. And run like hell." He then looked around the fancy villa. "He'll probably owe you like 50 million PKD too."

"243 million," Platinum mumbled as she stared at the remote device. "If you count all the decorations and furniture…"

"Whoa, that's a lot," Emerald said with a laugh. "He's _screwed_ if you don't enter that code!"

"… You will owe me half too," Platinum said with a sigh.

Emerald's smile faded. "Oh… … Enter that code _fast_. Seriously."

"Can you not just… remove whatever you did?"

"Not really," Emerald said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's… rigged to go if you tamper with it."

Platinum put the remote in her bag. "I will… be careful, then."

The heiress glanced at the stairs and saw Blue walking over. The Kanto Dex Holder waved as she came closer, and Platinum bowed to her politely.

"Good morning," Blue said as she sat on a couch nearby.

"Good morning, senior. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, thanks. I'm not hung over or anything." Blue glanced around the villa. "We didn't break anything last night, did we? Everything here looks so expensive…"

"It is okay, senior," Platinum assured. "There are no damages done."

"For now," Emerald added. "But if something bad happens, Gold and I are going to owe Platinum _millions_."

Blue chuckled lightly. "Oh, sure you will. Now, for the New Year's party… let's pick somewhere else. Platinum, since we burdened you for the Christmas party, why don't you pick the location for the New Year's one?"

"Yeah. Pick which set of Dex Holders you want to totally screw over," Emerald said. "Because Chaos & Mayhem are coming again."

"Though that is not my intention," Platinum started. "But I do wish to visit Lumiose City of Kalos. I have heard that they have a special event for the New Year's Eve."

"Great! It's decided," Blue said with a clap.

Just then, White and Y came downstairs, having woken up the other female Dex Holders. Blue looked over at Y and grinned.

"Great news, Y!" she started.

"Huh?"

"Our New Year's party is going to be in Lumiose City!" Blue said. "You know that means. Reserve the best hotel in Lumiose for all of us and get ready to have some fun!"

Y's mouth opened in shock as she quickly ran some calculations. '_19 Dex Holders… New Year's… Lumiose City… 5 star hotel? Oh no… I'm going to be sooo broke…_'

White gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Better get a loan. Because you're going to need it."

* * *

><p><strong>Next up (DHC): two possibilities<strong>

**1) Team games! Blue wants to see which Dex Holder couple gets along the best. The team that wins gets sent on a romantic vacation for a week, and the losing teams have to pay for it.**

**2) Gender supremacy! Male Dex Holders vs. Female Dex Holders in a series of games and challenges! But… right from the beginning, things are clearly imbalanced.**

* * *

><p>Post Ending:<p>

Platinum watched as the other Dex Holders left, one by one. Afterwards, she looked back at her villa. Finally. It was over. She let out a sigh and decided that she'd clean the place before heading home. She made her way towards the refrigerator to get a glass of water first. But the moment she pulled the refrigerator door open, she heard a loud alarm from the inside.

"What?" the heiress muttered in surprise. She jumped in horror when she heard Gold's voice from inside the refrigerator. It was a recording, obviously.

"10… 9… 8…"

"Oh, no!" Platinum screamed. She quickly took out the remote Emerald gave her, but noticed that… it had no batteries. "Ah!" With a panicked shriek, the heiress ran as fast as possible towards the exit. "SENIOR GOLD!" the screamed out just as she left her villa and the countdown hit 0.

From afar, Gold and Emerald kept walking as they occasionally glanced at the villa.

"Do you think she fell for it?" Emerald asked.

"Probably," Gold said with a laugh.

"When she finds out that it's just a sound recording of a bomb detonation with the volume on max, she's going to be pissed."

"What's she going to do to us? And besides, that was your idea. If she comes after us, I'm saying that it was your fault."


	37. The Mind(less) Games

**Welcome to SR's finale. I **_**was**_** going to have two more DHC chapters, but… well… meh. My decision. And SR, which I felt was dead for a while, is now finally ending. So here it is: the very last chapter.**

**Note: my profile page now has a Links section, including my Tumblr, Twitter (new), among others. So check them out!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 37: The Mind(less) Games<p>

Classified location, Unova, 10 am…

White snapped awake when she heard someone knocking on her door. She took a few seconds to collect her thoughts. Oh. She must've dozed off while reading a book.

She opened the door and almost jumped in surprise. Red, Gold, Sapphire, Platinum, Black, and Y were waiting for her.

"Oh! Hi," White said as she quickly calmed down. "What brings you all here?"

"We were thinking of places to go for fun," Red started.

"And it was decided to visit Unova," Sapphire said. "So here we are!"

"We're sorry we didn't give you a heads up," Y said.

"We promise we won't break anything," Gold said. "… Probably."

The Dex Holders filed inside before White could really say anything. Platinum stood next to her and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I apologize if you were in the middle of something."

"No, no," White said as she shut the door. "I wasn't doing anything in particular. But now that you're here, maybe we should discuss potential Musical and Contest ideas?"

Platinum glanced over at the other Dex Holders, who already decided on the first game they were going to play. A game that involved not laughing. Those who laughed would get slapped on the wrist _really hard_. And to get the others to laugh, the Dex Holders were making funny faces, doing something stupid, and even tickling one another.

The heiress shook her head and faced White. "That would be great. I would prefer not getting involved in those… _games_."

Gold and Sapphire pulled off a double act that sent Y bursting into a fit of laughter. The other Dex Holders immediately grabbed her by the hand and ruthlessly slapped her wrist right below the palm until her skin turned red. For revenge, Y tripped Sapphire, who fell onto Black who got pushed into Red in a domino-style collision. That made Gold laugh for just a little, and that was enough to get the other Dex Holders to pounce on him to deliver the punishment.

"… I think I'll convince them to play a board game," White said with a sigh. "Before they break something…"

She quickly ran upstairs and returned with a board game in hand, hoping that a _calm_ game would result in less broken furniture.

For a while, it seemed that things would pan out that way. Red, Gold, Sapphire, Black, and Y _calmly_ played the board game while Platinum and White watched them.

"Come on, roll a 3!" Y exclaimed happily. "Then you land on _my_ place!"

"How come you have 4 hotels built there?!" Gold yelled. "That's crap! How many hotels can you cram in one plot of land?!"

"I own that whole city! I can do whatever I want, as long as I have the funds!" Y said. "So just roll! Roll a 3!"

"What are the odds of that happening?" Gold said with a smirk. "Sorry, Sky Girl, but that ain't going to happen. I have two dice, so the probability of rolling a 3 is basically non-existent!"

"The probability is 5.5556%, senior," Platinum said from behind. "It has a much higher probability than rolling two of the same number repeatedly, which, I may add, you have been doing quite a bit."

"You're not helping me," Gold said. "And hey, I'm just lucky. Rolling two 6's repeatedly is nothing!"

"What is being lucky?" White asked. "One can argue that you're lucky if you just hit a statistically improbable event, even if that event sucks for you."

Gold rolled the dice, confident that he wouldn't be screwed over now. He rolled a 1 and a 2, combining to a total of 3…

"… Crap."

Y burst into a fit of laughter. "You're _sooo_ lucky!"

"You owe her a ton of money!" Sapphire said as she laughed as well.

With a growl, Gold reached into his pocket to take out his wallet. He tossed a few bills to Y and stuffed his wallet back in.

"Why did you pay her?" Platinum asked.

"We're using real money for this!" Gold said. "But toned down a little."

"So, you're out now, right?" Black asked.

"No way!" Gold yelled. "I still got money! Let's keep going!"

"Bring it on," Sapphire said with a grin. "I don't know if you've noticed yet, but you have no board presence. You only own 3 territories and the rest of us own the entire board. So just keep your wallet out and prepare to pay up."

Platinum watched the board game continue for a while before she turned to face White. "Would you like to accompany me to the department store?"

"You mean the one in Route 9?" White asked.

"Yes. I would like to visit there and make a few purchases."

"Sure, I'd love to," White said with a smile. "I'm always with a battle maniac, so I never get the chance to just shop, you know? So let's do it!"

"Senior Red?" Platinum started.

Red tossed his Aerodactyl's Pokéball to her. "Have fun."

"Thank you."

"Try not to break anything," White said. She took a nervous glance around her house, memorizing each of the rather fragile objects around the place. Just in case. "We'll be back in a few hours. Don't burn anything either!"

…

Platinum and White returned a few hours later after some _brief_ shopping. White hastily entered her house, wanting to make sure that nothing was destroyed. And to her surprise, she spotted Red, Gold, Sapphire, Black, and Y lying on the ground, completely immobile, and quickly ran up towards them.

They were all breathing, and it was blatantly obvious that they were all trying to stay completely still and make absolutely no movements. It was as if they were pretending to be dead or something.

"What the…" White muttered. She shook Y by her shoulders, but the Kalos Dex Holder didn't move. She was obviously awake though.

Platinum crouched next to her. "Y, sit up and look at me, please," she said calmly. The Kalos Dex Holder slightly frowned but still remained motionless. "That is an order," the heiress said again.

Y groaned and sat up. Once she did, the other Dex Holders sat up as well and cheered. Platinum and White blinked a few times, wondering what was going on exactly.

"Miss Platinum!" Y started with a moan. "You ruined me!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"We were playing a game," Red said as he came over. "We all pretend to be dead, basically, and remain completely idle. The first one to move loses."

"I… see?"

"We just wanted to make sure we didn't break anything, as you said," Red said to White. "Best way to do that? Just don't move at all."

"You know what this means!" Gold said as he approached Y.

"Oh, come on! This wasn't my fault!" the girl complained. "I can't disobey Miss Platinum!"

"A result is a result! So brace yourself!" Gold said.

Y groaned again and shut her eyes. She braced herself and Gold promptly hit her on the right cheek with his palm.

"Gold! Why'd you do that?" White asked in surprise.

"That's the punishment!" Gold explained. "The winners of the game slap the loser in the face! We all agreed to this."

Red, Sapphire, and Black took their turns to slap Y. Red took it easy on her and didn't hit her too hard, but her cheek was burning red from the repeated strikes anyways. She growled and clenched her teeth.

"Round 2!" she declared. "Come on, let's do this!" She glanced at Platinum and White and forced her expression to brighten. She just could not be rude to Platinum, no matter how much she wanted to. "Miss Platinum, please don't do anything this time."

"Very well," the heiress said with a nod. "Come, White. We should think of possible decoration and design ideas."

For a long while, Platinum and White silently discussed possible Musical/Contest design ideas while the others pretended to be dead. A couple of hours passed, and the two _normal_ Dex Holders began to hear someone snoring. They glanced over at the _dead_ Dex Holders and soon realized that Black was snoring. He was even drooling a little as well, making it blatantly obvious that he was fast asleep to everyone.

"Yes!" Y shouted as she sat up. "Finally!"

The others cheered as well and approached Black. The boy soon woke up and realized what happened.

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed as he sat up. "I couldn't have been the _only_ one sleeping!"

"I was sleeping too," Sapphire said. "But I wasn't snoring! Or at least I think I wasn't."

She looked over at Platinum and White for verification. The heiress nodded in agreement. With a cheer, Sapphire slapped Black across the face, maybe a little too hard.

Once all the punishments were dealt, Red cleared his throat. "Alright now. Let's play another game."

Everyone except Platinum and White filed out of the house, leaving the two girls alone. White let out a sigh of relief, glad that no one broke anything.

Now that they had privacy from the battle crazy Dex Holders, they could create fancy decorations in peace.

…

"How does this look?" Platinum said as she showed White her sketches of a dress idea.

"That looks so cute," White said with a bright smile. "We should get Ruby to make them for us."

"If senior Ruby wishes to assist us, yes. But if he is busy, I can make an order to have the dresses created once I return to Sinnoh," Platinum said as she looked at her sketches once more. She suddenly glanced out through the windows.

"Is something wrong?" White asked.

"I suppose I am slightly worried about the others," Platinum answered. "It has almost been two hours since they left, and they have yet to return."

"Yeah. Who knows what weird game they're playing right now," White said with a slightly worried expression. She soon rose to her feet. "Let's go check on them."

The two girls left the house and immediately spotted the other Dex Holders in the backyard. To their surprise, they were all kneeling on the ground in a line.

"Um… what are you doing now?" White asked.

"A little race," Sapphire answered while still on her knees.

"We wait until we can't feel our feet," Gold said.

"And the last one to reach the finish line loses," Black finished.

"And what is the punishment this time?" Platinum asked with a sigh.

"That's a secret!" Red said with a laugh.

Y squirmed a little. "Okay, I lost all feelings on my feet," she said. "A total lack of circulation."

"Great!" Red said. "Now, I'll count down from 3. And then we'll run."

"Let's do this!" Sapphire yelled.

"Alright! 3… 2… 1… GO!"

The 5 Dex Holders jumped up to their feet, took one step, and immediately collapsed.

"Ow, my feet!" Y cried out.

"This is terrible!" Black said as well as he gingerly massaged his feet.

White and Platinum shook their heads while watching. This had to be one of the stupidest games in the _world_.

"AAAHHH!" Sapphire roared as she forced herself upright. The other Dex Holders looked quite surprised to see her standing up already. But her legs wobbled as her feet were still numb from the lack of circulation. And with a pained groan, she soon collapsed once more.

Gold forced himself up too. His legs were wobbling quite badly as well. Sapphire watched him for a while and upon realizing that he was going to stay upright, she swiped at his feet, forcing him to fall again.

"Ow! Hey! That's cheating!" he yelled. He soon saw someone beginning to crawl ahead. He realized that Y was crawling towards the finish line, having given up in running. "Grab her!"

Sapphire lunged at her junior and tackled her down. Y tried to crawl anyways, but Sapphire held her down by pushing her knee down on the Kalos girl's back. With a grin, Sapphire reached for her junior's ankle.

"N – No! No!" Y cried out as she frantically shook her head. "Not there!"

Sapphire's fingers reached her junior's ankle and she pinched the tendon on the back of the ankle. While her feet were still completely numb. Y began to scream as she thrashed around in pain. She clutched at her ankle as she rolled on the ground while the other Dex Holders crawled ahead.

Y soon recovered and struggled up to her feet. With a furious roar, she charged ahead towards the finish line. By the time she got anywhere near the finish line, Red and Sapphire had already reached the end, and Black was merely a foot away.

Y stopped running and put her hands on her hips. "Hey! That's totally unfair! You're just trying to get me to lose!"

"You didn't lose yet," Sapphire said as she sat down on the grass to massage her feet. "Look behind you."

Y glanced back and spotted Gold still quite far away, trying and failing to stand up again and again. With a cheer, she jumped towards the finish line, making Gold the loser of this game.

"Damn it, I still can't feel my feet!" Gold yelled from behind. "Wildchild Girl, I blame you for this!"

"What should we do with him?" Black asked.

"Let's go back inside," Red said. "I have a great punishment plan for him."

All the Dex Holders went back inside the house, with Sapphire dragging Gold by the back of his shirt.

Seeing how Gold was still significantly far away, Red whispered his plan to the others. Sapphire would still hear him with her enhanced hearing, so only Gold would be left out of this plan.

"Alright, I'm going to get Gold to poke the power outlet with two metal chopsticks," Red said. "So I want the rest of you to shut the power to the outlet in the kitchen so Gold doesn't get electrocuted."

By the time Gold reached White's house, the outlet was no longer powered and Red had his Pikachu test the outlet to see if there was any electricity. His Pikachu verified that it was safe to poke. Stupid, yes, but safe to poke.

"… Oh, come on!" Gold yelled in horror, having heard of his punishment. "You want me to do _what_?!"

"What are you, scared?" Sapphire taunted.

"Come now, you must've been zapped countless times by your Pichu and whatnot," Red said.

"Yeah! Stop being such a coward!" Y said as well.

Gold took the two metal chopsticks. Platinum and White stood back, wondering if he was crazy enough to actually do this.

"Fine! You asked for it!" Gold yelled. He stared at the outlet for a short while and stabbed with the chopsticks. "AHHH!" he screamed as his body began to jerk and twitch.

"Oh crap!" Sapphire yelled in horror. "You crazy fool!" She quickly grabbed a wooden chair from the dinner table and smashed Gold with it, sending him flying off to the side. "Damn it, Gold!" she yelled while holding on to the smashed piece of the chair. "You could've been killed! Lucky I had to save you. If I just punched you or something, I would've been electrocuted too, so I had to hit you with this wooden chair. Thank me later!"

"Ow, damn it…" Gold muttered as he sat up. "I didn't actually poke the outlet yet… So you hit me with a _chair_ for no reason!"

While the two Dex Holders argued, Platinum let out a short sigh of relief. For a short while, she was afraid that the wrong outlet had been unpowered. She was certainly glad that Gold had the senses to not to something _too_ stupid. And Sapphire's quick reflexes which did not help anyone.

"… You guys owe me a new chair," White said as she put a hand over her face.

"… Sorry."

Red looked down at the floor and stared at the large and small pieces of the chair. "… Alright people, let's tidy up."

Gold, Sapphire, and Black began to pick up the debris while Y swept the area with a broom. From the side, White let out a long sigh.

"Lady Platinum," she started as she faced her senior. "It must be hard for you to be grouped up with them."

Platinum slowly nodded. "At times, yes." She slowly smiled, however. "But it certainly is entertaining to watch."

* * *

><p><strong>SR began with a completely random chapter, thus it ends with a completely random one. Why did Ruby advertise dental floss in SR #001? Because. Why are the non-Platinum Red team Dex Holders playing brainless games? Because.<strong>

**Next up:  
><strong>**Nothing. Like I said, this is SR's finale! Thanks for reading!**


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